Proteas captain promises exciting brand of cricket as T20 series in India starts

It’s also an opportunity for South Africa to exert a bit of revenge on the Indians, having lost in the final of the last T20 World Cup in 2024 to the same side in Barbados, and then went on to lose a four-match series against them later in the year. Markram says they want their players to put their best foot forward from the first match.

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"T20 cricket is a training format. The way we want to play, we want the guys to fill themselves and showcase their skills and enjoy the game. And hopefully we see a collective effort to get the result. It is quite exciting, looking forward to it," said Markram. 

Markram and a few other players in the squad have hardly had time to rest after the ODI series, which was concluded on Saturday. He says they’ve had to switch their mindset to a different format of the game as soon as possible.

"You wrap the series, and then you travel for the next one quite quickly - and still be as ready as we can be for tomorrow. So, exciting series ahead, we're facing a good side, but we are looking forward to it," added Markram.

Among the new arrivals in India is paceman Anrich Nortje, who returns to the team after a couple of recurring injuries in the last 24 months. Markram noted that his addition is a boost to their bowling attack.

There’ll obviously be the extra motivation of impressing some IPL franchises for the players in the series, but Markram says that’s not their primary goal. He believes that securing contracts for the famous tournament will be the cherry on top.

"Some guys are in the auction I suppose, I think they want to do well and impress. They might want to get back to the IPL, but that is not the reason we are here. We want to play well, and if things work out according to plan, then that's an extra bonus," he expressed.