The IPL 2025 batting heroes for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have been Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh, while Aiden Markram has also been a silent worker. Pooran and Marsh’s early exits from the Rajasthan Royals (RR) game, according to Mark Boucher, brought out the best in Markram, who took “smart risks” to help his team win.
Despite having a difficult start to the season, Markram—who was selected by LSG for his base price of INR 2 crore at the auction—has scored 53, 47, 58, and 66 in four of the previous five games.
“From a psychological standpoint, Markram would not have entered the IPL with the largest deal. On ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut, Boucher stated, “You’re playing with Marsh and Pooran, so you probably thought he’d be the guy to take the backward step there.” “I believe that Markram kind of came into his own when Marsh left for personal reasons because he nearly went into that ‘I’m the senior player here’ [position].”
Additionally, I believed that Marsh and Pooran’s early exits from the game brought out the best in him.
Marsh and Pooran were involved on the powerplay during the game against RR. Markram stepped up and completed the LSG repair with a 45-ball 66. During his 45-ball stint, he smashed three sixes and five fours without taking many chances. He finished the day ranked sixth on the Orange Cap table.
Sticking to his game and not trying to follow Pooran and Marsh’s strategy of hitting “sixes for fun” had aided Markram, he had previously stated. However, LSG did require the sixes, which they eventually got from Abdul Samad, whose game-changing ten-ball 30 not out came later in the innings.
“Aiden is a natural leader and he is leading South Africa for those reasons as well,” Boucher stated. “Therefore, he will take the initiative to say, ‘Right, I’m the one they trust now to bat through the innings and if there’s a risk to be taken and a wise risk at that, I’m the guy who’ll have to do that,’ when such an occasion presents itself. As a result, it practically forces his hand, which, in my opinion, occasionally brings out the best in players. Markram is no exception.
With the exception of a 2024 encounter in which he began, Markram has been playing at No. 3 or 4 since being demoted from his starting position as an opener for South Africa in 2019. Markram became a “all-around” player in the format, according to Boucher, who believes that move helped him broaden his skill set. He has positioned himself alongside Marsh as an opener at LSG.
“Taking a batter who was always an opener, moving him to the No. 4 position [for South Africa] because he was young enough to be able to make the adaption and was good enough to make an adaption as well, he learnt how to play spin in the middle, so he learnt different shots – reverse laps and all that type of stuff – which you have to do to keep growing as a player,” said Boucher. “He returned to opening when he approached the peak of his career. He is capable of playing the opening role since he has a good enough technique, is also a Test player, and has the aggression and effort to play in the midst of the game. He has therefore grown as a player and become a more versatile player.
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