Markram was tactically astute and quite brave at the T20 World Cup: Smith

South Africa’s legendary captain Graeme Smith couldn’t help but heap praises on the 29-year-old Aiden Markram, who led the Proteas in fine fashion at the recently concluded T20 World Cup. 

Under Markram’s captaincy, South Africa entered the final unbeaten, with so many close-fought encounters in the tournament. Smith lauded Markram’s leadership throughout the tournament, calling him ‘tactically astute’ and credited the Centurion-born for his plans. 

It was the second-ever occasion that a South African side has reached the final across genders, as they lost a closely fought final by just seven runs. 

“Aiden was particularly good during the tournament. He was tactically astute, had good plans and was brave enough to make the big calls and then get all his players to commit to it,” said Smith in a media release.

It wasn’t the first time Markram showed his captaincy skills, having led the SA20 franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back championship titles. Even when Temba Bavuma missed a large chunk of the game in the ODI World Cup 2023, he led the side considerably well, with an unbeaten streak before the India game at World Cups. 

“We have, of course, seen Aiden captain in this manner before over the course of the past two SA20 seasons, leading the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to back-to-back championship titles, but now he has transferred this experience to the international arena,” added Smith, who is SA20’s league commissioner.

Smith also reserved praise for the SA20, with the league exposing several players to high-pressure situations. One of the bowlers who has emerged as a success story of the competition is Ottneil Baartman.

Baartman is the highest wicket-taker across the combined editions. The right-arm pacer has picked up 30 wickets over the last two years, averaging 13.8 at an economy rate of just 8.2. What’s staggering is his death-over skills, with 12 wickets. 

Throughout the competition's group stage, Baartman exhibited great skills and was one of the key forces in their unbeaten run. 

“Players are exposed to high-pressure and competitive cricket and this experience stood them in good stead in the US and Caribbean,” said one of the greatest South Africa captains.

“Ottneil is the epitome of a SA20 success story. A relatively unknown player before SA20 that has transformed and grown in confidence due to experiences with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape is phenomenal,” Smith said.

“Despite playing in his very first T20 World Cup, he backed his skills under immense pressure. The four wickets against the Netherlands and the last over against Nepal definitely stands out,” he added.

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