Virat Kohli pleads with South Africans to go easy on young Aiden Markram

Indian batting superstar Virat Kohli has pleaded with South Africans to show patience and not judge young South African stand-in captain Aiden Markram too harshly.

The 23-year old Markram took over the captaincy duties after Faf du Plessis’ injury in the first ODI in Durban and South Africa lost four of the five matches he was in charge of by big margins leading to questions about the decision to give him the responsibility.

“It is not easy when the results don’t go your way but I have been very impressed with him as a batsman and as a captain‚” said Kohli after the sixth and final ODI in Centurion.

“He is very composed from what I saw on the field.

"He is someone who does not lose his cool and that is a positive thing.

"He has captained his province‚ at junior level as well and I will suggest that people show patience with him because he is potentially your next leader.

"He is a top class batsman‚ it’s a joy to watch him play and he definitely has the talent to dominate as a batsman.

"He has the right mindset as a leader‚ he just need some time.

"I totally empathise with him because I have been in that position and all I can say is that he is on the right track.”

Markram only scored 127 runs in his six innings during the series with a high score of 32 and admitted that the responsibility of leading somehow affected his batting.

“The coach (Ottis Gibson) has the full right to say that maybe the captaincy affected my batting in the series looking with a naked eye.

"Maybe it was due to the pressure of being in the zone and worrying about other things and probably that is the reason.

"We chatted about it and on Friday when I batted I felt comfortable and pacing my innings the way I wanted to like in a franchise game.

"There is a lot of pressure as an individual to do well because I have set high standards for myself‚” Markram said‚ adding that they are disappointed after losing the series loss but they are not embarrassed.

“Embarrassing is a harsh word but we were not up to the standard that we would have liked and we are disappointed as a squad.

"I wouldn’t want to say that we are embarrassed‚ we put a lot of hard work behind the scenes to give our absolute best on the field.

"Results wise it could look embarrassing but I wouldn’t say we are embarrassed but we are disappointed more than anything else.”