Aiden Markram joins Hampshire as Dimuth Karunaratne's replacement for the upcoming season

South Africa batsman Aiden Markram will be playing for Hampshire in the upcoming County season. He has replaced Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne who was their earlier overseas player. Apparently, Karunaratne is in line for World Cup captaincy role and will also be playing in the domestic One-Day tournament in the lead up to the squad selection for the mega event in England.

Meanwhile, Markram will be available in time for Hampshire’s curtain raiser of the tournament against Essex at the Ageas Bowl from April 5. He will be playing in both red-ball and white-ball teams until early May for them before leaving for World Cup if selected in the squad. Cricket South Africa (CSA) is all set to announce the World Cup squad on April 18 and this is when Markram’s availability will be cleared.

Also, his availability depends on whether Karunaratne returns again following Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad announcement later this month.

Very excited to join

Aiden Markram, in his statement, after signing a contract with the County team, expressed his excitement to join the team and was looking forward to giving his best in both first-class and List A affairs.

“I’m very excited to be joining Hampshire for the start of their season. Hampshire have a great squad and I’m looking forward to working with the coaching staff and contributing to the goals of the team. The Ageas Bowl and its facilities are brilliant and I have always wanted to go back after touring there with South Africa A so I am grateful for the opportunity,” he said according to Hampshire’s official website.

Hampshire’s Director of Cricket, Giles White, welcomed Aiden Markram saying, “We’re really pleased to have secured the signing of Aiden. He’s certainly a player that we’ve kept a close eye on for the last couple of years and he’s had a great start to his international career in that time – he’s one of the best young talents in the world at this stage in terms of a top-order batsman.”

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