Exclusive: Gerald Coetzee Excited to Reunite with Aiden Markram at Durban’s Super Giants

Durban’s Super Giants’ fast bowler Gerald Coetzee is excited to reunite with captain Aiden Markram, fast bowler Kwena Maphaka, and England batter Jos Buttler at Kingsmead in Durban later this year for the fourth season of the SA20.

Playing under Aiden Markram

The SA20 Auction for the fourth season got underway in Sandton on 9 September as the six franchises looked to finalise their squads with over R131 million to spend.

The Durban-based Super Giants made one of the two best signings of the auction, recruiting Aiden Markram for a massive R14 million, a record-breaking price tag and the second most expensive in the history of the SA20, with Dewald Brevis’ R16 million being the most expensive.

Coetzee was purchased by the Super Giants for R7.4 million, as the 25-year-old became the fourth most expensive player in the purchase.

With Markram having won two of the three SA20 titles, and finishing once as runners-up, all while captaining his previous team, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Coetzee is excited to play under the successful leader.

Having played under Markram for the Proteas, Coetzee told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview that Markram is a good leader not only because of his personal performances but also because of his kindness and empathy for the players he is leading.

“I think you can see why DSG value Aiden so much. He's not just a world-class batter, which no one can deny; he's one of the best leaders and one of the nicest people. He's not just a good leader, he's a good person, gets on with everyone in the team,” Coetzee told SportsBoom.co.za.

“He's honest, he's very understanding, and very kind. So, I think DSG made a great call to invest in Aiden. I think the success of the last three SA20 seasons speaks for itself. With a good leader, a good team and a good environment, success is inevitable.”

Joining forces with Maphaka

Coetzee will join Proteas fast bowler Kwena Maphaka at the Super Giants to make up what will be a formidable pace attack.

He is looking forward to joining forces with Maphaka, and also with local and Proteas players Andile Simelane, Daryn Dupavillon and Eathan Bosch.

“I think Kwena obviously is exciting; he's as young as I am. But then you've got the younger guys, well, not younger, in the sense of maybe international experience,” Coetzee said.

“You've got Eathan Bosch; he's done really well on the SA20. You've got Daryn (Dupavillon), the experienced guy, who is from there, and Eathan (Bosch) is from there. So, I think they made good signings."

“They signed Andile (Simelane), who's a good all-rounder, also from Durban. So, I think they really did their homework to get good quality players who also are familiar with the conditions, which I think is clever.”

Leaving JSK to DSG

Coetzee had been representing the Joburg Super Kings in the opening three seasons of the SA20 and will now switch to the Super Giants jersey.

He reiterated the good treatment that he received at JSK and also expressed his excitement to join DSG.

“I think I’ll always have a love for JSK and the people there. I think they treated me really well. It's an awesome environment and I'm very grateful for them,” said Coetzee.

“But in saying that, I'm very excited, I'm very honoured to be with DSG, not just the team itself, the players, as well, I really enjoy. I've played a lot with Klaasen, Aiden, and I've played with Joss (Buttler). I've played against some of the guys whom I really admire and respect. So, I'm very excited for that. I'm excited for the new challenges."

“I’ve heard good things about the environment. I’ve heard it's really good. It's very relaxed. Which is all good signs. So, I'm very excited for that. I think it's going to be awesome. And I think it'll bring out the best in me, which is also something I look forward to," he concluded.