‘A dream come true’: Markram honoured to captain Test team

Already well established as a leader of the national squad, Aiden Markram says it is “a dream come true” as he prepares to captain the SA cricket team in a Test match for the first time in his career.

Markram, who has led the Proteas in 13 ODI matches and 22 T20 Internationals, will captain the Test squad in the first match against Bangladesh in Mirpur next week.

He replaces regular skipper Temba Bavuma, who has been sidelined from the first Test with a left tricep muscle strain which he picked up on the recent limited overs tour of the UAE.

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Bavuma left with the rest of the squad on Tuesday for their two-match tour, in the hope that he would be cleared to play in the second Test.

“It’s what I dreamt about as a kid, firstly playing for South Africa and then secondly to captain my country in a Test match is the ultimate for me,” said Markram, who will play his 40th five-day match next week.

“So I’m incredibly honoured and grateful for the opportunity, and hopefully we can put in a good performance, start the series well and run with that momentum.”

Experienced skipper

Though he had never led the national squad in a Test match, top-order batter Markram said he would lean on his experience in limited overs games.

He did not feel he would need to tinker much with his approach, despite the change in formats.

“I don’t think I’ll go away from the way I operate in white ball games,” said Markram, a long-time leader who captained the SA junior team to victory at the 2014 U-19 World Cup.

“A lot of it will be based on conditions when we’re out there, so if it is flat we can experiment with fields and plans, and if there’s assistance with ball in hand then it’s just about patience and execution.

“We’ll assess it all once we’re there and make calls, but I don’t think it will be too different from the white ball stuff.”

The first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh starts in Mirpur next Monday.