After a long stint with Kings XI Punjab -- where he played 84 matches -- in the IPL, the South African left-hander batsman David Miller will move camp to Jaipur. In Thursday’s auction, he was picked by Rajasthan Royals for a reserve price of Rs. 75 lakh.
Responding to an email-interaction facilitated by Sony Pictures Networks India, Miller -- who is currently playing for Hobart Hurricanes in the Australian Big Bash League for the first time -- believes that with many thriving Twenty20 leagues in the world, players could specialise in the shortest format of the game.
Miller has played a total of 300 Twenty20 matches -- for South Africa, Kings XI Punjab, Chittagong Kings, Jamaica Tallawahs, St. Lucia Zouks, for different teams in South Africa and for Durham, Glamorgan and Yorkshire -- and has scored 6618 runs.
Excerpts…
Are the players practising only to become Twenty20 specialists in the future?
Why not ? I have been labelled a white-ball player. Looking at my career, there has been a lot of opportunities for me in the white- ball format. At the end of the day, if you are a professional athlete, you don’t select yourself, you have to wait for the opportunities.
And if you take them, and do very well, you could just be playing more of one-day cricket, Twenty20 or Test cricket or whatever it is. I think it’s definitely going that way with many leagues around the world and it’s healthy at the end of the day. If you are good at it, there are opportunities.
What’s the difference between IPL and BBL ?
I have played in Australia, but not many Big Bash League games.I don’t know what to expect, but seeing on TV, there are huge crowds. I cannot compare it with the IPL, I don’t know if it would be the same.
But definitely the surfaces and conditions are different. There is better bounce in the BBL, but the BBL and IPL are two different competitions. Both successful in their own right and I am happy to be part of it. At Alice Springs (where Hobart played Sydney Sixers on December 20), definitely it’s like Indian heat, but it’s not humid and hot in other parts of Australia.
What are the chances of Hobart Hurricanes pushing for the title? It has reached the final twice…
Hobart hopefully can take the title this year. We will play our best cricket. There is a sense of history in getting the title.
Your thoughts on ‘The Hundred’ -- to be played in England next year?
I don’t know how it’s going to pan out. It seems it would be an exciting competition. A lot of people are talking about it, some are for it and some are not for it. I am not going to be part of it. Let’s see what happens, there has been lot of planning in the last two years.
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