South Africa captain Aiden Markram has emerged as one of the standout performers of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Among the 11 openers who have faced at least 100 deliveries in the tournament, his strike rate of 175.16 is the highest. According to former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, Markram’s stint as an opener for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2025 played a key role in shaping his evolution as a T20I batter.
“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,” du Plessis said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show. “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.”
During IPL 2025, Markram operated at a strike rate of 151.13 in the powerplay, outperforming players such as his current South Africa opening partner Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma and Will Jacks in that phase. Alongside Mitchell Marsh, he adopted a more aggressive approach at the top after previously batting at No. 4 for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during their run to the IPL 2024 final.
Before that shift, Markram had largely occupied middle-order roles for South Africa in T20Is. Following the IPL, he was handed the responsibility of full-time opener. The team management backed him ahead of Ryan Rickelton, the leading run-scorer in SA20 history. All 1349 of Rickelton’s SA20 runs have come as an opener, but in this T20 World Cup he has been slotted at No. 3 to allow Markram and de Kock to continue at the top.
“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,” du Plessis said. “Now, it’s an incredible skill to be flexible as a batter.
“Team managements around T20 circuits around the world and the IPLs, you’re looking for versatility around what a guy can do. Can he open? Can he bat 4? So it gives you more options from a selection point of view. But that jump from 4 to 1 or 2 has been great for him because the strike rate is there.”
Although South Africa have played five of their seven matches in the tournament in Ahmedabad, they have encountered red, black and mixed-soil pitches. The side has adapted effectively, aided by the momentum Markram has provided at the start of the innings.
His strike rate in this T20 World Cup stands nearly 40 points higher than his overall T20 career strike rate of 136.37. Du Plessis, who previously captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), believes the IPL’s Impact-Player rule has influenced how batters approach the format.
“The game demands it from you, and if you don’t evolve with the game, then you get left behind,” du Plessis said. “So with Aiden, naturally the game has moved that way.
“I remember that first year actually really well because we were doing things as a team, at RCB. We were playing good cricket and we were playing positively and we were like, we’re not far off here, but teams are beating us. And it was like halfway through the season where it was, okay, let’s just pause here and get a blank canvas out and go, where is the game right now?
“Because no longer could you say it’s a 170 wicket when you’re 10 overs out there in the middle and you’re batting together, because who knows? Like, there’s an extra batter and a batting line-up of nine guys. So it’s like, scrap everything we know.”
An all-format cricketer with a fourth-innings century in the World Test Championship (WTC) final to his name, Markram has refined his T20 method without compromising his technique.
“He’s one of those kinds of batters that technically is sound,” du Plessis said. “So, he’s a three-format player, and that’s why he’s been successful.
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Technically, he doesn’t have a lot of holes in his game. Yes, they were talking about Test cricket of being even quite loose and driving and getting nicked off, but that’s just a strength that gets you out sometimes as well. That’s, I mean, the great Virat Kohli is also a guy that drives in front of his body, and he’s a pretty good cover-driver. So, with Aiden was just, you will figure it out.”
Under Markram’s leadership and with his contributions at the top, South Africa remain the only unbeaten side to have reached the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
