“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.”
“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.”
Though South Africa have played five of their seven T20 World Cup games so far in Ahmedabad, they’ve had to bat on red, black and mixed soil pitches. They’ve dealt with it well, thanks to the early impetus provided by Markram.
His current strike rate in this T20 World Cup is almost 40 points more than his T20 career strike rate of 136.37. Du Plessis, who has captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the past, suggested that the introduction of the Impact-Player rule in the IPL has freed up batters.
“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.”
“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. 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 captaincy and batsmanship, South Africa are the only team to have made it to the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-finals without losing a game.