Aiden Markram is, in general, seen as a measured and pragmatic man. It hasn't been surprising then that social media, the medium so prone to vitriol and contributor to the slow death of common sense and perspective, has portrayed the 28-year-old Proteas star as a polarising player. As a blistering start to his international career gradually started to lose steam - culminating in him being dropped for the Test series against Australia - many cricket "lovers" have argued Markram is coddled, a player granted more opportunities to redeem his indifferent form than others. Given his relatively relaxed persona, it's far too easy to believe he lacks the ruthless mental fortitude of the players who did become greats. On the other hand, as the South African game contemplated a lack of depth in batting, Markram has supporters who believe he's simply too gifted not to be backed to the hilt. Either way, the impression was of a young man caught between two fires, simply because he always stays measured. And then a video, that would go viral, emerged of Markram's talk to his Sunrisers Eastern Cape teammates after they suffered their third defeat of the SA20 campaign, a tight five-wicket loss to Joburg Super Kings. "Tonight's pretty simple," he says. "Fifteen, 20 runs more and this f*****g changeroom is smiling. So we're not diving f*****g deep into what-ifs and buts and all that b******t. But the one thing I wanted to touch on is that it was a f*****g incredible game to be part of. To stand on that field and watch how you guys fought is something you can't teach. It's something you can't encourage guys to do. It comes from within. " That's a pretty emphatic speech for a man - almost like Chelsea's embattled but demure manager Graham Potter - perceived to be lacking emotion. READ | 'Clean slate' for emotional Markram after significant Test ton: 'I held back the tears' Sunrisers would end up unexpectedly winning the whole inaugural affair. Markram ended as the SA20's most valuable player with 366 runs and 11 wickets at equally rapid rates. Then, told in no uncertain terms by Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad that he was his designated opener no matter what, he struck a majestic 115 on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies in Centurion on Tuesday. Asked quirkily about his "uncharacteristic" speech a few weeks back, Markram does little to overturn his image of a well-mannered man. "There's a lot of passion that comes out in changerooms, but you're in the public eye and you have to try to be a role model to the kids who are looking up to you and try to make people proud of you," he said. "You don't want to go too far away from your authentic self but you have to understand the role you play. " It's clear he's beginning to grasp that balance far more effectively. Part of that process has been to, for quite some time, remove himself from certain platforms. READ | Markram makes his mark, but Windies fight back to even out first day against SA "I've binned social media. Those that know me well know that I'm not very good on my phone. That's a blessing in disguise," said Markram. "A few years ago, I decided to get off Twitter. I suppose what you can't read, you can't get into. You appreciate the nice things people do say, but it probably doesn't outweigh the negative comments. "It has helped me a bit. " Psychological pressures of the game at its highest level - and the accompanying toxicity from social media - were thrust into the spotlight again at the weekend after Proteas women's wicketkeeper, Sinalo Jafta, revealed how her mental health deteriorated to the extent that she contemplated ditching cricket altogether a few months ago and checked herself in to a rehabilitation facility for alcohol abuse. Thankfully, her journey has been reinvigorated by South Africa's sterling efforts at the T20 World Cup. Deleting his Twitter app might not have proved a silver bullet to Markram's on-field struggles, but it was a start. "After having a tough day, there's no point reading more negative things. If you have access to it, it prevents you from seeing it. Sometimes on social media, things can look worse than what they are," said Markram. "After a couple bad innings, you can feel like the worst player in the world because you are reading what everyone has to say. Some people have thick skins and they don't mind but for me, there was no real point reading it. " The benefits are steadily becoming very apparent. .