Aiden Markram: “It was obviously tough and it was always going to be tough”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Aiden Markram has admitted that captaining South Africa during the ODI series against India was a “tough” experience.

Markram was handed the leadership role after regular skipper Faf du Plessis was ruled out of the limited overs series with a fractured right index finger, which he sustained in the first ODI.

While the Proteas enjoyed a rare taste of success in the fourth ODI in Johannesburg, which kept their pink ODI record intact, the rest of the series was a complete disaster as India proceeded to win 5-1 and subsequently secured their first-ever bilateral ODI series win in the country.

Markram himself failed to have much of an impact with the bat as he scored 127 runs at an average of 21.16.

“It was obviously tough and it was always going to be tough,” he was quoted as saying by Sport24. “Having said that it was something I was looking forward to and it was a challenge I really enjoy. I can still say that sitting here having lost the series 5-1.

“I learnt a lot, and learning a lot at this stage of my career is not a bad thing. Going forward I’m just going to try and take lessons that I did learn if I ever captain again.”

The 23-year-old also admitted that his side were completely outplayed by India throughout the series.

“The guys rocked up with a very good attitude today and were prepared to go the distance, but unfortunately it wasn’t the case,” he said. “Yet again India played some really good cricket. We were just outplayed again.”