BAN vs SA 2024: Top 3 Players to watch out for in upcoming Test series

South Africa are all set to face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, starting on Monday, October 21, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. Meanwhile, the second Test gets underway on October 29. This is going to be the start of Bangladesh's post-Shakib Al Hasan era in the longest format of the game. Meanwhile, South Africa will be playing their first Test in Bangladesh in nine years.

The hosts produced a magnificent result on their tour of Pakistan in August-September. Najmul Hossain Shanto's men became the first Bangladeshi side to win a Test match against Pakistan. They went on to whitewash the Shan Masood-led side 2-0. Later, they went on to face India in a two-match Test series and started the first Test positively but India came back strongly and managed to complete a clean sweep. The Bangla Tigers will want to get back to winning ways with an upset over the Proteas.

Meanwhile, South Africa played two Test matches recently in the Caribbean against the West Indies. Their squad had a fine balance of experienced campaigners and talented youngsters. The first Test in Port of Spain ended in a draw but the tourists emerged victorious in a thrilling encounter in Guyana by 40 runs to take the series 1-0. The conditions will be challenging for the Proteas as they are not used to the spin-friendly wickets which are expected to greet the two teams during the Test series. However, they have enough potential in their side to come up trumps.

Here are the top three players to watch out for in BAN vs SA Test series:

3. Aiden Markram

Aiden Markram will have an important role to play in the series not just with the bat but also with the ball. Bangladesh's top four batters in the series against India were left-handers and the trend could continue in this series as well. Markram's off-spin could be crucial against them.

He will be leading the side in the first Test in the absence of regular captain Temba Bavuma. The added responsibility should bring the best out of Markram. He has an excellent record with the bat against Bangladesh as he has scored 255 runs from three innings, with one fifty and one century. However, he will be up against them on the Bangladeshi soil for the first time in the forthcoming series.

Markram's averages in India and Sri Lanka are 11 and 10, respectively. However, in Pakistan, where the conditions are better for batting, the right-handed batter averages 56.75. He has played four Test innings in each of the three aforementioned countries. Markram has improved his batting against spinners in recent times and that will come in handy for him on this tour.