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Having suffered a huge setback due to regular skipper Faf du Plessis' injury, Cricket South Africa named 23-year-old batsman Aiden Markram as skipper for the remainder of the five-match ODI series against India.
Du Plessis fractured his right index finger during the first ODI in Durban that India won by six wickets despite his century.
Markram has only featured in two ODIs so far, making his debut against Bangladesh in October 2017. He has also played 6 Tests.
He led South Africa to Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2014 and has been widely regarded as a future captain. However, Du Plessis' unfortunate injury prompted selectors to fast-track Markram to the hot-seat.
"It wasn't a hard decision. Rather, it was an easy decision. If AB de Villiers was around, and other senior players as well, we would have probably looked at different options," said Linda Zondi, convenor and head of the Cricket South Africa selection panel.
"We are aware that Markram is new to our set-up. Part of our Vision 2019 plan is to build a pool of leaders within the set-up. I think Markram has always been in our plans since he was Under-19 captain, leading up to South Africa A, and now joining the Proteas," the convenor further added.
He admitted that Markram will be under a lot of pressure.
There has been no announcement on the captain for the ensuing three T20Is series though. Du Plessis is ruled out for that contest as well.
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