Aiden Markram, the South African top-order batsman, is one of the most stylish young cricketers of this generation
A right-handed batsman who can also bowl some handy off-spin, Markram is a talent to watch out for.
So, here we have listed down 20 interesting facts about Aiden Markram.
1) On 4 October 1994, Aiden Markram was born in the city of Centurion in South Africa
2) Aiden hails from a sporting family and at the age of 2, he got his first cricket kit.
From an early age, Markram used to enjoy playing cricket and football
But in 2013, he finally left his passion for football behind and joined the Tuks Cricket Academy to become a professional cricketer
3) Aiden Markram led South Africa to a U-19 World Cup triumph in the 2014 U-19 World Cup in UAE
Markram scored 370 runs in the tournament at an insane average of 123.33 and was awarded the ‘Man of the Series’
He scored an unbeaten 66 runs knock against Pakistan in the final of the tournament and was elected the ‘Man of the Match’
4) After the completion of the 2014 U-19 World Cup, many U-19 cricketers like Kagiso Rabada and Andie Phehlukwayo made it to the senior South African team and earned a national contract
But, Markram enrolled in ‘The University of Pretoria’ to complete his higher education
5) On 9 October 2014, Aiden Markram made his first-class debut for the Northerns cricket team against South Western Districts in the Sunfoil 3-Day Cup
6) On 12 October 2014, Aiden Markram made his List-A debut for the Northerns against South Western Districts in the CSA Provincial 50 over Challenge
Opening the batting for Northerns, Markram played a superb 111 run innings, his first century in List-A cricket
7) In 2016, Aiden Markram joined the Titans, where he got the mentorship of Mark Boucher
Even though Ray Jennings played a crucial role in his early career, it was Boucher, under whom, Markram became a superb batsman across all three formats
Under him, Aiden Markram averaged above 50 in both first-class cricket and limited-overs competition.
8) Markram was in the Northerns cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T-20 Cup
In 2016, Aiden Markram played club cricket for Walkden in the Bolton Cricket League.
9) Aiden Markram was the 3rd highest run-scorer in the 2014-15 Momentum One-Day Cup scoring 508 runs.
He was a consistent run-getter in the Sunfoil series First-Class competition and scored 565 runs at an impressive average of 51.36 in 2017
10) In May 2017, at Cricket South Africa’s annual awards, Aiden Markram was named Domestic Newcomer of the Year 2016
11) On 28 September 2017, Aiden Markram made his test debut for South Africa against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom
In this match, he made an immediate impact by scoring 97 runs in the first innings
12) On 6 October 2017, in the second test against Bangladesh, Aiden Markram scored his maiden test century ( 143 runs off 186 balls ) in Bloemfontein
13) On 22 October 2017, Markram made his ODI debut for South Africa against Bangladesh at the Buffalo Park Stadium in East London
He scored 66 runs and picked 2 wickets in the match to help South Africa secure a mammoth 200 run victory
14) In December 2017, against Zimbabwe, Aiden Markram scored his 2nd test century ( 125 off 204 ) in Port Elizabeth
With this century, Markram became the first South African cricketer to score two centuries in his first three Test matches.
15) On 4 February 2018, at the age of 23 years 123 days, Aiden Markram became the second youngest cricketer after Graeme Smith to captain South Africa in ODIs
16) On 30 March 2018, Aiden Markram registered his fourth test century against Australia in Johannesburg
In this match, he ended with 152 runs in the first innings as South Africa beat Australia by a huge margin of 492 runs
17) On 22 March 2019, Markram made his T20I debut for South Africa against Sri Lanka at Centurion
18) In March 2019, Markram signed for Hampshire County Cricket Club as an overseas cricketer
In the final of the 2018–19 Momentum One Day Cup, he scored 127 runs and helped the Titans win the tournament
Aiden was included in ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year for 2021
19) Markram replaced Dawid Malan in the Punjab Kings squad for the second leg of IPL 2021
On 20 September 2021, Aiden Markram made his IPL debut for Punjab Kings against Rajasthan Royals at the Dubai Cricket Stadium in UAE
20) In the 2022 IPL auction, Markram was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad Indians for INR 2.6 crores
In his 17 IPL matches, he has scored 472 runs at an impressive average of 47.20