New Delhi: Aiden Markram’s stocks are on the rise. Having played lead role in South Africa lifting the World Test Championship (WTC) title in June, he drew one of the highest bids in the SA20 auction. On Friday, he was named the Durban Super Giants captain. Markram spoke to TOI on T20 leagues, South Africa’s talent pool and the upcoming T20 World Cup. Excerpts… How gratifying is this for being tagged as one of the highest paid players in the league being an all-format player?I suppose everyone wants to play all-format cricket and I’m very lucky and blessed to be able to do that and then to get captaincy from this fantastic franchise is a huge privilege. The money is not the reason you play the game but it’s nice to feel valued from such a big franchiseDo you think it becomes a lot easier when you play for a common owner?It does help. I enjoy consistency. I enjoy mingling with good people regularly and that’s exactly what this franchise is all about. So, now that I’m with them in two of the leagues is really awesome. You understand how people work and how best we can all work together and I think that’s good from a longevity point of view. How important are these leagues for the growth of the game in a particular nation?If I look at how SA20 really helped cricket in South Africa from the national team point of view, it’s grown the player pool in terms of the depth of cricketers within South Africa. All of a sudden, there are quite a few guys knocking on the door to get into the national side. How important will the next six months be for South African cricket given that there is a T20 World Cup coming up?The focus is on the T20 World Cup and we’ve had a good couple of previous ICC events and managed to win one. When you get that close you become quite hungry to want to get the job done fully. The WTC final must have taken a lot of weight off your shoulders as well…Yeah, for sure. You do still play to win trophies and we’ve been chasing a trophy for a while now. It was a special week for us and to lift the trophy is something, something I, I’ll cherish forever for sure. With so many players in IPL, do you think South Africa are better placed?If you go across India, each venue is quite different. It’ll be important to have all bases covered. I don’t want to have too many preconceived ideas. Does it worry you that so many of the cricketers choose to give up international cricket at the peak of their careers?To each their own, to be honest. Each person makes a decision based on where they are at in their lives, what they value in the moment and you can’t hold that against anyone really. International cricket will always be strong. It will always be the priority for the young cricketers coming through. And if that’s the goal and drive in the younger guys, then I still think international cricket is in a really strong space. If you can be a part of one franchise and play in a couple of leagues and still play international cricket, you’re really blessed. I remember having a good discussion with our big boss Mr. Sanjiv Goenka to see how passionate he is about his franchise, but also about international cricket. He’s a wonderful man to be able to speak to and bounce ideas. Can you really apply the same leadership philosophies or culture in a franchise and the national team in international cricket?You back the way you lead. Obviously, when you’re playing for your country, there’s a lot of pride. Everyone’s already there for one common reason. In franchise cricket, guys are coming from different backgrounds and cultures. You try to learn as quick as you can to marry all of those things together and, and push towards the one goal which is ultimately winning.