South Africa has had several accomplished captains over the years - Kepler Wessels, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith, to name a few.
But none of these stalwarts have been able to guide the team to a World Cup trophy, or even to a final.
If things go to plan for South Africa on Saturday, Aiden Markram will be adored as the chosen one. It would be a dream for Markram to banish the ghosts of past World Cups.
Markram looking at the pitch during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu
Markram believes that this group of players have real mettle - a quality which came to the fore in tight encounters. Winning pressure games gives the unit a big boost, he said.
“We have won three or four crucial moments in tight games in this tournament. This has given our team the belief that we can win from any position,” Markram said at the press conference here on Friday.
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“There is a strong will to win. It’s an extreme hunger to win cricket games. We have not achieved what we would have liked to on the world stage. I think that gets the juices going for all of us,” Markram said.
“We’ve been together for a few years now, and we have a good understanding between us. This will help us with the small margins. It was not me who got us here. It is down to the squad that has been on a journey to our first final,” Markram said.
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Markram is happy that past South Africa players and captains have wished the team well.
“There has been a lot of support from our past players. These are guys who inspired us when we were younger. To make them proud and to have their support means a lot to us,” the 29-year-old said.
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