The 30-year-old Markram is set to play in his 40th Test and it will be the first time that he captains the Proteas in the longest format of the game.

Markram, who is the only player to captain South Africa to a Cricket World Cup title, has previously skippered his country in One-Day International as well as T20 International cricket.

Markram, who will lead the team in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma, said he has dreamt about the day.

Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram. Photo: Cricinfo

“Absolutely, it’s a big dream come true, to be honest,” said Markram. “It’s what I dreamed about as a kid, firstly playing for South Africa and then secondly to captain your country in a Test match is the ultimate for me, so I’m incredibly honoured and grateful for the opportunity.

“Hopefully we can put in a good performance, get a win, start the series well, and run with that momentum.”

Markram added that he will approach the leadership role in the same way he does in limited overs cricket, but that will also depend on what the playing conditions have to offer.

“It will probably be similar, I don’t think I’ll go away from the way I operate in the white-ball stuff,” Markram added. “A lot of it will be based on conditions when we aren’t there so, if it is flat, you can get ready to experiment with fields and plans, but if there’s assistance with ball in hand, be it spinning or if it doesn’t seam around, then it’s just about patience and execution.

“So, we’ll assess it all once we’re there and make the call, but I don’t think it’ll be too different to the white ball stuff.”

The Proteas will depart for Bangladesh on Tuesday and the 1st Test in Dhaka gets underway on 21 October.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg