"South Africa have found a gem, and they need to protect him" - Dinesh Karthik on young South African pacer

Former Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes South Africa have unearthed a gem in Kwena Maphaka, claiming that they must protect him to the fullest. Karthik, who will play this year in SA20 for the first time this year, observed that the left-arm seamer has all the skillsets to be the top bowler in the coming years.

Having first grabbed eyeballs during the U19 World Cup last year, the 18-year-old has played in all three formats for South Africa, delivering promising performances.

In eight international outings thus far, he has snared 11 victims, including dismissing Pakistan star Babar Azam for his maiden Test wicket recently at the Newlands.

Speaking to Cricbuzz ahead of Paarl Royals' opening game on Saturday, Karthik stated that Maphaka's only job when he gets on the field should be to win games for his side. He said:

"He's a special player. You can see that in the way he bowls. He's got the skill sets to be the superstar that I expect him to be. South Africa have found a gem, and they need to protect him. He needs to learn how to take care of his body.

"The one thing that will happen as he grows is he could drop pace and he doesn't want to do that. So, how he takes care of his body is important. But mentally, every time he gets on the park, it should be about doing everything possible to win the game for the team."

The youngster was signed by the Mumbai Indians as Dilshan Madushanka's injury replacement during IPL 2024. Although he took a wicket in his second IPL game, the teenage prodigy had a nightmare debut, notching figures of 4-0-66-0.

"He's just starting his career and I'm near the end of mine" - Dinesh Karthik

Kwena Maphaka. (Image Credits: Getty)

Karthik added that he hopes to see knowledge getting transferred on both ends and wishes to do special things for the Royals. The 39-year-old added:

"They're two ends of the spectrum, aren't they? He's just starting his career and I'm near the end of mine. Now my role is to make sure I'm there for the tough moments when the game is on the line, and that I'm doing something special to help the team.

"I really wish that this experience and this youthful exuberance meet somewhere in the middle and something special is created. Knowledge learnt is one side of it, but knowledge shared is a lot more fruitful."

The Paarl Royals finished third in the standings in the 2024 edition of the SA20.