Kwena Maphaka Height, Age, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Kwena Tshegofatso Maphaka
Profession	Cricketer (Bowler)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	5' 10" (178 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Cricket
Jersey Number	# 11 (South Africa National Under-19)
Domestic/State Team	• South Africa A (2023-present) • South Africa Emerging Players (2023-present) • Paarl Royals (2024) • DP World Lions (2023-present) • Mumbai Indians (2024)
Batting Style	Left hand Bat
Bowling Style	Left arm Medium
Personal Life
Date of Birth	8 April 2006 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2024)	18 Years
Birthplace	Johannesburg, South Africa
Zodiac sign	Aries
Nationality	African
Hometown	Johannesburg, South Africa
School	St Stithians College, Johannesburg, South Africa
Educational Qualification	As of 2024, he is pursuing the final year of his high school. [1]India Today
Family
Parents	Father- Maboe Maphaka (director of MCS Holdings (PTY) LTD of Johannesburg) Mother- Raesibe Maphaka (director of MCS Holdings (PTY) LTD of Johannesburg)
Siblings	Brother- Tetelo Maphaka (elder; cricketer) Note: Tetelo is six years older than Kwena Maphaka. He plays for Imperial Lions.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kwena Maphaka

• Kwena Maphaka was born into a sporting family. His father was a footballer, while his mother was an athlete.

• Maphaka first picked up a cricket ball when he was 2 while playing garden cricket with his elder brother. Recalling his childhood, in an interview, Maphaka said,
  

  The first memory that I have is from about four years old, and it was of typical garden cricket with an older brother. He would get me out early and then I’d bowl at him the whole day and he’d hit me out of the garden. Well, I wouldn’t call it bowling. I was just throwing the ball at him.”

• Growing up, he played a variety of sports like hockey, rugby, cricket and tennis.

• At the age of six, he played for his school’s Under-9 team.

• He was a part of the St Stithians Boys’ College cricket team.
  

  Kwena Maphaka during his school days

• He was just 15 when he played his first Under-19 international.

• On 30 September 2022, he made his T20 debut for the South Africa Under-19s team against Easterns during the CSA Provincial T20 Cup at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg.

• In 2022, he was part of the SA U19 squad that won the Division Two CSA T20 Knockout tournament in East London.
  

• In 2023, he was called up to the South Africa A squad as a replacement player for the injured Lutho Sipamla.

• On 12 June 2023, Kwena Maphaka made his first-class debut for South Africa A against Sri Lanka A at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Balagolla, Sri Lanka. This was an unofficial test match. He claimed two wickets in the first innings and took the wicket of Sri Lanka A’s captain Nipun Dhananjaya in the second innings.

• On 6 October 2023, he made his List A debut for SA Emerging against Limpopo during CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division Two at Tuks Cricket Oval in Pretoria, South Africa.
  

  Kwena Maphaka bowling

• In December 2023, he was named in South Africa’s squad for the 2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. On 19 January 2024, he earned the title of Player of the Match for the first match against West Indies in which he took a match-winning five-wicket haul. His highlights in the World Cup include taking five-wicket and six-wicket hauls against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka respectively in the Super Six stage.

• He made a record for taking three five-wicket hauls in the 2024 U-19 Cricket World Cup, the highest by any player in a single U-19 World Cup tournament.

• He took 3 wickets against India in the semi-finals. However, his side lost the match.

• His impressive performance in the World Cup led him to be named as Player of the Series. He Maphaka ended the tournament with the most wickets (21), the second most wickets in a single tournament.

• He rewrote history by claiming the most five-wicket hauls in a single edition of the U-19 World Cup, taking 5/38 against the West Indies, 5/34 against Zimbabwe, and 6/21 against South Africa.

• In August 2023, Maphaka was signed by franchise cricket team Paarl Royals for the 2023–24 SA20 season.

• He played for Central Gladiators at the 2023 CSA Cubs Week.
  

  Kwena Maphaka as a player of the Central Gladiators at the 2023 CSA Cubs Week

• He played for Imperial Lions in the 2024 CSA T20 Challenge.

• In March 2024, he was named to the Mumbai Indians’ squad as a replacement for the injured Dilshan Madushanka in the 2024 Indian Premier League.

• Mumbai Indians bought him at a base price of Rs 50 Lakhs.

• He was the youngest player in IPL 2024 who was called at the age of 17 years 349 days.

• On 27 March 2024, in his debut IPL match against SunRisers Hyderabad, he became the most expensive overseas player in the history of the tournament; he conceded 66 runs in his quota of 4 overs. ^[2]India Today

• He has played hockey for his province as a defender.
  

  Kwena Maphaka playing hockey

• He also dabbles in gymnastics and athletics and once did a 100-metre sprint in just 11 seconds.

• In a 2024 interview, he said that after finishing school, he wanted to pursue studies in sports management and clinical psychology.

• He is inspired by the cricketers Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson, and Trent Boult.