South African Test opener Aiden Markram will replace injured batsman AB de Villiers for the first One-Day International (ODI) of the six-match series against India at Kingsmead on Thursday.The Proteas picked Markram to give him his second ODI cap ahead of uncapped Khaya Zondo for the match.
Markram, 23, will bat at number four for de Villiers who has been ruled out of the first three ODIs due to a finger injury. Reports suggest that the Proteas swashbuckler will be ruled out for the first three One Day Internationals of the six-match series after injuring his finger during the third and final Test at New Wanderers, Johannesburg.
"We will be giving Aiden an opportunity to come in for the injured AB de Villiers," said skipper Faf du Plessis, as media reports suggest.
He added, "We want him to bat in different places in our batting order, that is a great way for players to evolve their game and to bat in different situations in one-day cricket. That will be a nice learning curve for him and hopefully he will score good runs for us."
South African swashbuckling batsman de Villiers sustained an injury to his right index finger during the third Test match against India and is hopeful to return for the fourth 'Pink' ODI on February 10.
De Villiers played a major role in South Africa's Test series win over India despite scoring runs like he used to. The No.1 ranked team in the ODIs will take on the team one spot below them as the Virat Kohli led Team India will come in with all guns blazing at Durban.
(With ANI Inputs)
