Kwena Maphaka is an upcoming South African cricketer set to play for the Mumbai Indians in the upcoming IPL 2024, find out more about him below along with his bowling speed
The Mumbai Indians named the South Africa U-19 star as their replacement for their injured Sri Lankan pacer, Dilshan Madushanka.
Who is MI bowler Kwena Maphaka, biography, age, bowling speed and career stats wickets
Kwena Maphaka! pic.twitter.com/4nisSMS6pi
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) March 21, 2024
Mumbai Indians are set to begin their IPL 2024 campaign against runners-up, Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, on Sunday, March 24.
Kwena Maphaka set to replace Dilshan Madushanka
The Mumbai Indians have chosen Kwena Maphaka to replace Dilshan Madushanka for the upcoming IPL season. The 23-year-old recently suffered a hamstring injury during their recently-concluded ODI series against Bangladesh. Before the injury, the five-time champion Mumbai Indians purchased Madushanka for ₹4.6 crore during the IPL 2024 auction. having shone during the ODI World Cup last year, claiming 21 wickets in nine outings.
Kwena Maphaka bio and age
Kwena Tshegofatso Maphaka is an upcoming South African cricketer who was born on April 8, 2006, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is currently just 17 years old and has a promising career ahead of him. Maphaka gained prominence after being awarded Player of the Tournament during the U19 World Cup in South Africa.
According to an MI media release, the team spoke about how Maphaka can generate serious pace and is capable of touching the 140 kmph mark. The franchise further shared about how he made his debut for the South Africa U19 team at 15 years old and has already played in two U19 World Cups.
Kwena Maphaka career
Kwena currently plays age-group cricket, representing the South African national under-19 cricket team. He made his first-class cricket debut for South Africa A back in June 2023, during a match against Sri Lanka A. He mainly plays as a left-arm pacer and managed to pick up 21 wickets at an average of 9.71.
Kwena Maphaka career stats
Given below are Kwen Maphaka’s career stats across all formats:
Bowling
| FORMAT | Matches | Innings | Balls | Runs | Wickets | BBI | BBM | Average | Economy | SR |
| FC | 2 | 4 | 251 | 194 | 7 | 2/37 | 4/124 | 27.71 | 4.63 | 35.8 |
| List A | 2 | 2 | 120 | 125 | 3 | 3/60 | 3/60 | 41.66 | 6.25 | 40.0 |
| T20s | 9 | 9 | 192 | 215 | 13 | 4/18 | 4/18 | 16.53 | 6.71 | 14.7 |
Batting and Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR |
| FC | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1.66 | 42 | 11.90 |
| List A | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20s | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1* | – | 2 | 50.00 |
Kwena Maphaka’s ‘I Don’t Know’ celebration
Just recently, the ICC released a video of the player on its Instagram handle during the U19 World Cup 2024. In the video, Maphaka talked about his ‘I Don’t Know’ celebration after taking wickets.
I actually asked my brother for a celebration to give me just before the World Cup. And he just said ‘I have no clue. I don’t know’. I said, ‘You know what, that sounds good. Let me go with the “I don’t know” celebration.”