SA vs IND 2018: Stand-in Captain Aiden Markram Reveals his Batting Position

After losing the first ODI by six wickets, hosts, South Africa have suffered another major blow, as their skipper Faf Du Plessis has been ruled out of the rest of the ODI and T20 series against India due to a fractured finger.

Aiden Markram has been appointed, as the stand-in captain as AB De Villiers was earlier ruled out for the first three ODI’s due to a broken finger.

Appointing Markram as the captain has come as a surprise for the fans, as Markram has played just two ODI’s for the senior side, and the selectors also had the option of appointing Hashim Amla.

Markram made his ODI debut against Bangladesh and played his second ODI against India in Durban.

Markram came into the side, as a replacement for AB De Villiers and batted at the number four position but could only score nine runs.

However, with both Du Plessis and De Villiers ruled out, Markram said he could bat at the number three position. Markram also opens the innings for South Africa in Tests.

“It would make sense for myself to go up to three, having spent most of my career opening the batting. From three onwards we are not 100% sure of the side. That selection meeting must still take place and will be announced later in the day. There is plenty of experience in the middle order with JP [Duminy] and Dave Miller, so we will organise it and go according to the way the game dictates tomorrow.”

Another option for the Proteas will be to swap Amla for Markram, as Amla is the most experienced batsman in the batting line up and he can be vital to tackle the Indian spinner in the middle overs. However, Markram has rubbed aside this option, as he feels Amla has been in good form opening the innings for South Africa.

“I don’t think so,’ he said when asked about a swap with Amla. ‘Hash has been so good at the top of the order for us and provides that calmness and hits good cricket shots while the field is up. He is a massive asset at the top, and I don’t think there is a need to adjust the batting lineup. I just think players need to develop strong game plans and stay within them for a long period of time.”

Here’s the news feed:

Faf Du Plessis ruled out of the rest of the series due to finger injury 

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