Kwena Tshegofatso Maphaka (born 8 April 2006) is aSouth African internationalcricketer. He is primarily a left-arm fast bowler. He played for the South African team in the Under-19 World Cup, where in the semi-final he took 3 wickets for 32 runs in 10 overs against India.^[1] He made his debut withMumbai Indians inIPL 2024. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals.

At 18 years and 137 days old, he became the youngest South African to make his debut in men's international cricket, while still completing school atSt Stithians College, Johannesburg.

As a 15-year-old, Maphaka was included in the2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in theWest Indies in January and February 2022. He played three of South Africa's six matches and took seven wickets at an average of 18.28 with an economy rate of 5.56.^[2]

In December 2023, he was named in South Africa's national under-19 squad for the2024 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.^[3] In the first match againstWest Indies, he took a match-winning five-wicket haul, for which he got the player of the match award.^[4] Maphaka shined forSouth Africa in the Super six stage, as he took five-wicket and six-wicket hauls againstZimbabwe andSri Lanka respectively. He took a record three five-wicket hauls in the tournament, the highest by any player in a single Under-19 World Cup tournament.^[5][6] He then went on to take 3 wickets againstIndia in the semi-finals in a losing cause. Maphaka ended his campaign with 21 wickets (second most in a single tournament) at an average of 9.71.^[7] Adding his 7 wickets in the 2022 edition, his total tally of 28 wickets inUnder-19 Men's Cricket World Cups puts him equal to Zimbabwe'sWesley Madhevere for most wickets overall.

Maphaka made his List A debut on 6 October 2023 during the Division 2 of the2023 CSA One-Day Cup. He played for theSouth Africa Emerging Players side againstLimpopo, he took 3 wickets to help his side win the match.^[8]South Africa Emerging won the division 2 final againstFree State Knights, Maphaka had a tough day as he conceded 65 runs without taking a wicket.^[9]

In August 2023, Maphaka was signed byPaarl Royals for the2024 SA20 season.^[10] He missed the tournament to attend the Under-19 World Cup that was being played at the same time, but was retained byPaarl Royals for the2025 SA20.

Kwena joined his brother Tetelo in theLions squad in South Africa's Division 1 and in March 2024 he made his debut againstBoland in theCSA T20 Challenge competition.^[11]

In March 2024, he was named as a replacement for the injuredDilshan Madushanka in theMumbai Indians' squad for the2024 Indian Premier League.^[12] He played two matches and became the youngest South African - and third youngest overseas player overall - to feature in the IPL.

In June 2023,South Africa A toured Sri Lanka for twoFirst-class and threeList A matches. Maphaka was not named in the initial squad, but then he replaced the injuredLutho Sipamla.^[13] Soon, he made his first-class debut in the first unofficial test match on 12 June 2023, at the age of 17.^[14]He took 2 wickets in the first innings and scalped the wicket ofSri Lanka A's captain in the second innings.^[15]

Maphaka was named in the South African squad for the T20i leg of their August 2024 tour of theWest Indies. He made his T20i debut on 23 August 2024 after an injury ruledLungi Ngidi out of the series.^[16] He became the youngest South African man to play international cricket, at only 18 years and 137 days old. He claimed match figures of 1/25 in 3.5 overs, with the West Indian captainRovman Powell becoming his first international wicket.^[17] In December 2024, he was called to replaceGerald Coetzee, who suffered a groin injury, for the second Test againstSri Lanka.

On 19 December 2024, he became the youngest ODI debutant for South Africa, picked up figures of 4/72 in a high-scoring contest against Pakistan.^[18] He took wicket of Babar Azam as his first test wicket.^[19]

• 2006 births
• Living people
• Cricketers from Johannesburg
• South African cricketers
• South Africa Twenty20 International cricketers
• 21st-century South African sportsmen
• Lions cricketers
• Paarl Royals cricketers
• Mumbai Indians cricketers
• South African expatriate cricketers in India
• South Africa One Day International cricketers
• South Africa Test cricketers
• Rajasthan Royals cricketers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2024
• Use South African English from April 2024
• All Wikipedia articles written in South African English