South African all-rounder explains why ‘Ram Siya Ram’ from Adipurush plays in the background when he comes to bat

He is of Indian ancestry and was born to a Hindu family in South Africa.

South African all-rounder explains why ‘Ram Siya Ram’ from Adipurush plays in the background when he comes to bat

Keshav Maharaj (Image via X)

It has become a tradition now in cricket that whenever Keshav Maharaj walks into bat, the DJs at the stadium play the ‘Ram Siya Ram’ song. Hearing the song at the stadium upon Maharaj’s entry onto the field made Virat Kohli perform the famous ‘bow and arrow’ pose plus he folded his hands in ‘namaste’ in the recent second Test match in South Africa. KL Rahul, in an ODI match before the Test series, told Maharaj about the song and the latter nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Maharaj now explained why the ‘Ram Siya Ram’ song is played when he comes to bat. He is of Indian ancestry and was born to a Hindu family in South Africa.

YouTube video

Being a devotee, he wanted to do something to express his devotion to God and that is why he told the DJs in the stadium to play the song. The popular song is from the Prabhas-starrer movie Adipurush.

Obviously, something that I put forward to the media lady and requested that the song be played. For me, God has been my greatest blessing, giving me guidance and opportunity. So, it's the least that I can do, and it also just gets you in your zone. It's a nice feeling walking out (onto the ground) to hear 'Ram Siya Ram' playing in the background.
Maharaj was quoted as saying to ANI

Related: WATCH: Fans at Narendra Modi Stadium chant “Jai Shri Ram” when Mohammad Rizwan was returning to pavilion after dismissal, netizens divided

Keshav Maharaj’s stats in international cricket

Keshav Maharaj made his debut for South Africa back in 2016 in a Test match against Australia. In 2017, he played his first ODI match, against England.

Keshav Maharaj
David Miller, Keshav Maharaj (Image via ESPNcricinfo)

Around four years later, he got the chance to represent South Africa in the T20Is. The all-rounder has so far played 50 Tests, 44 ODIs, and 27 T20Is.

From these matches, he scalped 158 wickets and scored 1135 runs (Test), 55 wickets and 238 runs (ODIs), and 24 wickets and 41 runs (T20Is). In the recent Test against India, he scored three runs in each innings but did not bowl.

In case you missed!