Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has attributed Aiden Markram's emergence as a successful T20 opener to his IPL 2025 performance with Lucknow Super Giants. Markram has scored 268 runs at a strike rate of 175.16 in seven matches of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, leading South Africa to an unbeaten run. Du Plessis highlighted how the league's demands shaped Markram's aggressive style.
Aiden Markram, the 31-year-old right-handed batter from Centurion, is captaining South Africa in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Under his leadership, the team has won all seven matches played so far, with Markram topping their run-scorers list with 268 runs at an average of 53.60 and a strike rate of 175.16—significantly higher than his T20I career strike rate of 148.47.
He began the tournament with a 59-run knock against Canada in Ahmedabad on February 9, followed by unbeaten 86 against New Zealand on February 14 and 82 against West Indies on February 26, both at the same venue. This positions him second among captains with the most wins in the men's T20 World Cup.
Former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis credited Markram's IPL 2025 stint as opener for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for this transformation. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show, du Plessis said: "I think what was really good in terms of his own game is the (IPL 2025) season where he opened for LSG and the IPL almost demanded that you needed to play in that way in order for you to keep your place."
He explained the influence of the Impact-Sub rule: "It was obviously the Impact-Sub (rule) and the way the game was moving. As an opener, you couldn’t play the old-school way anymore. So, if you were in that first six (overs) and you didn’t do your job by going after the ball, they would get someone else."
In IPL 2025, Markram achieved a powerplay strike rate of 151.13 and a season strike rate of 148.83, outperforming openers like Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma. Prior to that, he mostly batted in the middle order for South Africa and Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a 2024 IPL strike rate of 124.29 at No. 4. Post-IPL 2025, he has opened in 16 T20Is and batted middle-order only three times, ahead of Ryan Rickelton who now bats at No. 3.
Du Plessis praised Markram's adaptability: "Aiden almost fell into that in terms of like, ‘I’m gonna have to up the ante in terms of strike rate and play beautifully’. A good season, a couple of impactful knocks, and since then the adjustment was made from him from No. 3 or 4 to opening. Now, it’s an incredible skill to be flexible as a batter... That jump from 4 to 1 or 2 has been great for him because the strike rate is there."
South Africa, unbeaten in the tournament, faces New Zealand in the first semi-final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on March 4.
