In 2014 Aiden Markram led a young group of South Africans to an ICC Trophy as they lifted the under-19 World Cup under his leadership. Four years later, Markram, a rising young batter at that time was thrusted with the job of leading the South African team against India as his seniors, Faf Du Plessis and Ab De Villiers were struggling with injuries. His first foray into captaincy in international cricket did not go too well as South Africa lost 5-1.

Through that series his batting form too dropped as Aiden Markram finished with a highest score of 32 across the six games. He made his comeback and found ways to add value at a greater volume with his off-spin making it easier for captains to manage their troops. He started shining with both bat and ball until his Test struggles once again created dents in his confidence.

Through his career, Aiden Markram had a handful of leaders in both the South African side and the franchise circuit. Despite struggling to make an impact in Test Cricket after a strong start to his career, Aiden Markram found ways to perform consistently in white ball Cricket and is one of South Africa’s most important batters in both the T20 and ODI Formats. He has made a comeback in Test Cricket too, and that could spark speculations on leadership roles in the longer formats too later in the future.

For now though, with Markram leading the Sunrisers to the title in the SA20, he has proved once again that he has what it takes. With Bavuma struggling in T20 Cricket and with Maharaj injured, South Africa are turning to a younger cricketer, who now has a chance of stepping in with little consequence considering it is not a World Cup year in the shortest format.

He still has a tough side against him and as shown in the first T20I, Aiden Markram has work to do. The bowling struggled as West Indies, with all the depth and power that took them to World Titles in the shortest format came after South Africa and challenged them. He is now back as a key player in all three formats, and the focus on him and on South Africa’s performances in the upcoming games remains high.

The side is still looking for solidity. They had a tough time in the T20 World Cup with a defeat to Netherlands taking away their chances of going through to the next round. The team though is not too concerned. They have set their sights on the bigger picture. Despite having an ODI World Cup in a few months, South Africa are going big and looking towards the 2027 World Cup. By then Aiden Markram will be 32, and if his career graph goes well he could well be playing his best cricket by then across formats.

His time has finally come though and the next two years could well define his career and the way he is seen by the Cricketing World. He has had the performances, he has the potential, he is the same age as the likes of Babar Azam and Marnus Labuschagne, and a few good performances on a consistent basis could see him being spoken about at the same level as them.