Kolkata: Lucknow Supergiants Aidan Markram Not the kind of batsman who will go out there and start hitting sixes. He goes about his work without much flourish but provides what is necessary. Excerpts from a conversation with South Africa’s whiteball captain...LSG have three players who have captained their national teams in you, Nicholas Pooran and Mitch Marsh. The captain does. Rishabh Pant Bouncing ideas with you?Yes, he does. It’s always a fine balance because it’s his team and he wants to do it his way, which is important. The good thing is that whenever there’s a little bit of uncertainty or he needs an opinion, he contacts himself, Mitch, Nicky, obviously (strategic advisor) Kane Williamson.Pant seems to be in good shape…Any team that has Rishabh firing is a better team. He is a complete entertainer with serious talent. He always wants to lead from the front. He is very proud of his performance. You can’t keep a good player down for long.Unlike last year, LSG have no injury problems this time…Definitely better than last year. We’ve seen really good things from Pace Attack in the first two games. Obviously the inclusion of pacer (Mohammed) Shami with his ability and experience is huge.Shami was brilliant in the last match…No one really likes it. Having him in the team and sharing that knowledge with some young fast bowlers like Prince Yadav and Mayank (Yadav) is also invaluable.You have developed as a T20 player…It was more about understanding my character. You have a lot of guys playing T20 cricket now who are capable of hitting sixes off the first ball. My way of working may look a little different. Still playing Test cricket, you cannot develop the technical side of the T20 game. I have to work with what I have and try to hit more good cricket shots and trust that it will work on the day. So there may be a few less sixes but if I can still strike at the desired rate, that makes me happy.You seem very calm. Have you ever lost your cool in the field?Of course. You are only human. I guess over a period of time, if you’re not performing, you get very frustrated. It happened when I was a little younger. Over time, I’ve settled down. I remember talking to Hashim Amla about this and he just said that cricket is one reason for our life, but not the only reason. Striving to be consistent, whether you are doing well or not, is important as a human being. It’s like now I’m trying to manage.Would you call 136 in the WTC final your clearest knock?It will go down as one of the best days of my life. Emotions were a roller coaster for both teams and naturally we were chasing that first trophy. It was special to be with my friends and family at a place like Lord’s. It is a memory that will live with me forever.What do you think? Rajasthan Royals‘ Young opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi?It’s incredible to watch, to be fair. You try to think back to when I was 15, I think I would have done a good job of getting the ball to the boundary for four. He is walking out and hitting sixes in the IPL. He is absolutely fearless. You acknowledge it, respect it. I am sure he has a great future ahead of him and will keep many of us cricket fans glued to the TV.
