One needs to show patience with Aiden Markram: Virat Kohli

In what was an interesting press conference for the victorious Indian captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri, Kohli may well have scored some more off the field after his 35th ton on the field as he acknowledged opposition captain Aiden Markram. Kohli, who has faced the perils of being a leader in modern cricket in his early captaincy career, knows what it is like to be in Makram’s shoes even though he himself has never had to be on the receiving end after a dominant series by his opponents.

He feels that South Africa should persist with young Aiden Markram since he has got all the requisite qualities to become a good leader. Markram was announced the interim captain after the first ODI as Faf du Plessis got injured. While it is unlikely that du Plessis’ presence would have changed South Africa’s 5-1 drubbing in the series, it is also too early to make a judgement on Markram’s captaincy career.

“He’s (Markram) obviously captained his province and he has captained at the junior level as well. I would really suggest people show patience with him because he is potentially your next leader. He is a top-class batsman as well. It’s a joy to watch him play and he has definitely got the talent to dominate as a batsman,” Kohli was all praise for the former U-19 World Cup winning South African captain.

He’s got the right mindset

“He’s got the right mindset to dominate as a leader too. He just needs some time I can totally empathize with him because I’ve been in that position. All I can say is he’s on the right track,” the Indian captain added.

Kohli then added that since he has been subjected to scrutiny as recently as the Test series before this, he knows what it feels like to be under the scanner when the results are not in your favour.

“It is not easy and I understand it. Especially, when the results are not going your way. I have been very impressed with his batting and as a captain as well he is really composed from what I saw in the field. It is not easy when things are not going your way but he is someone who doesn’t seem to lose his cool, which I think is a very good thing and a very positive sign,’ he signed off.