When selected as the Men's Cricketer of the Year at the virtual 2021–22 Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards ceremony, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj stated it felt extremely wonderful.
Maharaj solidified his position as an all-format performer during the past 12 months by participating in 13 ODIs, 8 T20Is, and as many Test matches while taking 51 wickets. During the team's tour to Sri Lanka last year, 32-year-old Maharaj made his T20I and leadership debuts. Maharaj played in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the UAE after getting his first T20I wicket off his very first ball.
Maharaj had a strong start in Test matches when, in the second match against the West Indies, he dismissed Kieron Powell, Jason Holder, and Joshua Da Silva in quick succession to become the second South African bowler and the first spinner to get a hat-trick. In the first Test against Bangladesh in Durban, he went on to finish the season with statistics of 7-32.
"Wow, when I heard about that, I nearly started crying. It's certainly one of my most proudest and humblest professional moments. You know, you always want to play for South Africa but never really believe you'll make it, so when you have the chance to be named the South African Men's Cricketer of the Year, it is really something remarkable."
Maharaj stated, "I am truly thrilled and blessed to earn this award. I hope I can continue to grow, keep setting new standards, and most importantly, help the team become the best in all game types and, perhaps, win our first World Cup.
Ayabonga Khaka, a female bowler, was named the Women's Cricketer of the Year in addition to Maharaj. The Players' Player of the Year Award was also given to both players, by coincidence.
Ayabonga was recognised for her outstanding season with the ball after claiming 31 wickets across all formats and contributing significantly to the Proteas women's four-pronged bowling attack in 18 one-day internationals and three twenty-first century internationals. In September of last year, as South Africa won the ODI and T20I series, she started her season with a nine-wicket performance in the West Indies.
Ayabonga secured his first career five-wicket haul on the reverse tour, which was held in Johannesburg in the first half of 2022, and went on to finish with a series-high 10 wickets as South Africa won the four-match ODI series.
"Being selected Player of the Year is both an honour and a source of humility. Because this award, for Player of the Year, was given to me by my colleagues, it has a lot of significance for me. They have my sincere gratitude for acknowledging my contribution to the team. I want to thank all of my coaches for helping me keep getting better "Ayabonga remarked.
Then, she continued her outstanding play into the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where she became just the fifth South African woman to record 100 ODI wickets against Bangladesh. With Ayabonga finishing sixth on the list of wicket-takers after taking 12 victims, South Africa's World Cup run ended in the semifinals.
"Their efforts are noticed. I appreciate my family's unwavering support, and I thank them. I also want to express my gratitude to my teammates for their assistance; without them, my effort would not have been recognised. I wish to express my gratitude to all cricket supporters for their help. I implore them to carry on tomorrow and always "Finally, Ayabonga said.