After U-19 triumph Aiden Markram wants to makes his mark as senior Proteas skipper

Aiden Markram dismissed the notion that his experience of leading a junior Proteas side to a world title will automatically be replicated at senior level.

“It’s a completely different level of cricket and it was a long time ago,” Markram said of the baby Proteas’s U-19 World Cup winning run in 2014.

That group, which Markram led and included Kagiso Rabada, remains the only South African team to win an ICC World Cup.

Ten years on, Markram gets his first opportunity to captain the senior Proteas at an ICC event, when the T20 World Cup starts next week.

“There may be a small element of belief and confidence that you can potentially take from it, but if we win this World Cup, for me, it will be the first World Cup we win.”

Markram joined the squad in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday with rest of the players who were still at the IPL during its final week and those who were given an extra week’s rest in South Africa. 

“The off-field responsibilities as a captain are always more hectic at an ICC event, so it will be important for me to manage that, but there’s a good team of people around me to help. 

“As captain it’s important to manage energies that will allow the team to do well. Your main focus is to keep your team in a positive and good space and help everyone believe they are backed. [Captaincy] is a challenge but one I enjoy.”

Markram’s team ticks all the right boxes to allow it to play a modern T20 strategy.

Though he expects batting at the World Cup to be less adventurous than was the case at the IPL, where there were more than 40 totals of 200 or more runs, including eight of more than 250, Markram still believes batters won’t be shy.

“Guys are coming hard with the bat nowadays so bowlers will be tested. Your skills and plans have to be in place so you can get one step ahead of the batters.

“I think guys will be aggressive from a batting point of view, but because there’s no impact player, that means one less batter, so it’ll be back to 11-a-side cricket which makes a bit of a difference.

“That should allow situations to be played out, such as targeting certain bowlers. There will be a difference but the way the game is moving you can’t expect it to be a big difference.”

Markram forms part of potentially the most devastating middle order in the tournament with David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs.

While there remain concerns about the Proteas’ preparation for the World Cup — that like a handful of other teams was affected by the final week of the IPL — Markram feels South Africa could benefit. 

“Klaasy and Stubbsy will take plenty of confidence from the IPL.”

The Proteas will not play a warm-up match before they open their tournament against Sri Lanka at the Nassau County International Stadium in New York on Monday.

Markram said head coach Rob Walter is likely to attend Saturday’s clash between Bangladesh and India — the only match to be played at the stadium before the tournament — to gather as much data as possible about the ground, which is in Eisenhower Park in Long Island.

Drop-in pitches, which were prepared in Adelaide in Australia and then shipped to the US, will be used for all eight matches at the venue.