Durban's Super Giants captain Keshav Maharaj reflects on poor SA20 campaign

The Super Giants, last season's runners-up, have only won one of their nine matches in the 2025 campaign and sit rock bottom in the standings.

The struggles at the top of the order were obvious with the Super Giants not settling on an opening pair, while using Quinton de Kock in the middle-order at the start of the tournament.

New Zealand international Kane Williamson has been the team's standout performer with the bat with 211 runs in six innings, while Heinrich Klaasen has had a difficult campaign with 122 runs from his seven knocks and 66 of those coming in one innings.

Maharaj's chargers also struggled to take wickets at the start of the innings, meaning teams generally got off to flying starts and they were forced to go in defensive mode to stop the flow of runs.

Speaking to reporters after going down to a six-wicket defeat against Paarl Royals on Monday, Maharaj said: "I think we lost every power play, whether we were batting or bowling, That's the starting point.

"We found some rhythm at stages, the guys put up their hands when needed, and we put on totals that gave us a chance, but when you lose the powerplay, going four wickets down or not taking wickets, then it makes it very hard to come back from that.

"The fielding was also a big concern. We didn't look like a team that had energy, compared to last year."

The Proteas spinner has now captained his home outfit for two full seasons after De Kock relinquished the leadership reins after the first campaign.

Maharaj still wants to be the man in charge if, as expected, changes are made to the squad after leading the Super Giants to the final in 2024.

"It's been two very contrasting seasons," Maharaj said. "I love captaincy. It helps me think clearly at times, especially on the field and keeps me a little bit calmer than I normally am.

"The one thing that I really try and get is the camaraderie amongst my team-mates. It is a short competition and that's something that I feel I do really well: understanding my players and trying to get the best out of them.

"Sometimes it's hard, it doesn't transfer onto the field and I feel like it's one of those seasons. Having said that, I've enjoyed it very much."

The Super Giants will finish their SA20 season with a fixture against the Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers on Saturday.

Maharaj added: "We've still got a game to go. There's a lot of pride to play for, a lot of meaning for this badge and for the owners that have invested in us, so we're not just giving up."

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