Obakeng Meletse
As the Proteas go on the hunt for much-needed World Test Championship points, Aiden Markram's leadership and batting duties in the opening Test match against Bangladesh will be crucial.
The Proteas last toured Bangladesh in 2015, and a then-uncapped Kagiso Rabada with Temba Bavuma are the only survivors in the current squad. Bavuma will not be taking part in the first Test match and is a doubt for the second due to a left tricep strain, and in his absence, Markram will take over the reins.
South Africa are unbeaten in 14 meetings against Bangladesh, but without reading too much into those results, the encounters were against a Tigers side that was on the rise.
Since the last meeting in 2022, where the Proteas walked away with a 2-0 series win, they have made huge strides. Their recent 2-0 series win away from home against a formidable Pakistan team showed the danger they carry, especially in their own conditions.
South Africa have had their challenges facing spin bowling over the years, and although there has been a lot of improvement, especially with all the opportunities available to play in the different leagues around the world, the expectation will be for a barrage of spin to be thrown at them throughout the series.
Markram has had his challenges in recent away tours, as he currently averages 25.91 in the six Test matches he has played in Asia. The last time the Proteas played in the subcontinent was in 2021 against Pakistan.
Although they lost the two-match Test series 2-0, Markram will draw confidence from that tour, as he was the highest run scorer in the South African camp with 227 runs, including one century, and a score of 74 in the first Test.
“We are in a good space as a team,” Markram said recently.
“The spin has been a big talking point, especially being from South Africa, and we don’t get such conditions. It’s an exciting challenge for us to face, especially as a team that is relatively young and hasn’t played Test match cricket here.
“It excites you as a player to be able to get exposed to new conditions and learn more about the game we love, and take the lessons moving forward to the next Test match and also future subcontinent tours. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us as a team and one we look forward to.”
The 30-year-old went on to say that his team will need to be consistent and grind out good sessions if they are to get a positive result.
“We would like to play good cricket; we feel as a Test team we have up-skilled quite nicely, and we have better options now to face a spinning ball in conditions we’ll experience here.
“Hopefully, we can put in many sessions of good cricket together; we have no doubt it’s going to be tough and different for us as a team, and that’s the exciting part. We have good skills that can compete here; we are backing the squad we have here to get a positive result.
“Bangladesh have a strong squad and really good spinners within that squad. It’s going to be a few tough days for us, but it’s a challenge we look forward to.”