"India is a great team" - Aiden Markram press conference today ahead of SA v IND Final | Virat Kohli

Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain) pre-match Press Conference - 28th June 2024
Reporter:]
How do you look at the prospect of taking on a team which has not won a title in the last 10 years but should have, against a team who has never won a world title?
[Aiden Markram:]
Probably just see it as a new game of cricket, to be honest. We all know India's a great team. Us as a team, as South Africans, have been sort of trending in the right direction the last couple of years, but maybe not progressed in tournaments as far as we would have liked. So, an exciting occasion tomorrow against a good opposition in India, but a nice opportunity for us as the proteas as well.
[Reporter:]
Aiden, you've got quite a few people in your team who've been part of those teams that haven't made finals in the past. It looks from the outside like the difference is you've found a way to win key moments in tight matches. Would you agree with that and could you expand on that? And why is it do you think you've been able to do that in this tournament whereas you haven't been able to do it in the past?
[Aiden Markram:]
Not 100% sure, but I would agree. I think there's been close moments in games that would have probably affected the result and we managed to win those moments. To have done them two, three, maybe four times throughout the competition so far has sort of given the team the belief that you can win from any position, which I think is quite important for a team to have that. Guys we've been together now for quite a few years as a squad, as a white ball squad, and guys finally really understanding their roles within the team and I think that's starting to help us win those like small margins and those knife-edge moments.
[Reporter:]
First time ever in a world tournament like T20 World Cup, not batters, but bowlers are real heroes. So as a captain, how happy are you about that? And as a batter, how tough it is?
[Aiden Markram:]
Yeah, it's been tough as a batter. But I suppose either way, as a captain, whether it's batting or bowling friendly, if your unit that's putting performances in for you to get the wins, or if they're doing their job like they have been, you're pretty happy as a captain. So, I suppose it's been nice for the bowlers. I think T20 cricket as a whole throughout the world now has pretty much been a better friendly game. So, I guess it's been nice to see for the bowlers and something nice for the bowlers to work with. But from a batting point of view, it's been pretty challenging.
Reporter:]
Are you worried about the fact that Virat Kohli is yet to score in the tournament - big final, we all know what a player he has been. Any plan and are you worried of the fact that he has not scored runs in the tournament?
[Aiden Markram:]
I don't think it worries me. He's a great player, as we all know. But they've got their whole batting units full of great players. And cricket's a game of ups and downs. You're not always going to do well, especially as a batter. So, we just do our planning, do our preparation from a meetings point of view for planning towards those batters and hopefully on the day we can get that right.
[Reporter:]
Aiden, Indian team has immensely benefited from IPL. Many of you play definitely, but not all of you. So, has the current surge in performance of South Africa team has anything to do with the SA20?
[Aiden Markram:]
Yeah, the SA20 has been fantastic for cricket in South Africa. I feel we've seen what the IPL has done for cricket in India from an exposure point of view for players and ideally SA20 is going to get to a similar sort of vibe or it's going to achieve the same thing for cricket in South Africa, hopefully. So, it has been great. I think we've seen now quite a few more South Africans are getting picked up around the world in various leagues. So, yeah, you'd like to think that SA20 is going to play a big role moving forward, but already in its two years of existence has played a pretty big role.
Reporter:]
Is it easy to be able to try to stop yourself from thinking and spending energy? Doesn't that also spend energy when you're trying to stop yourself from thinking about it?
[Aiden Markram:]
No, you just distract yourself, really. Find something to do or watch a show or something and burn some time, I guess.
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