Temba Bavuma has praised David Miller’s glittering IPL campaign and suggested that conversations of a move up the order could be had for Miller. The skipper went on to squash concerns over “stifling or restricting” the in-form Miller.
Ahead of the departure to India for a five-match T20I series, Proteas’ white-ball captain addressed the media on Tuesday. David Miller’s performances in the recently concluded Indian Premier League were among the many topics during the press conference.
Miller had his best IPL season yet as he recorded an impressive 481 runs in just sixteen innings. He was striking at 142.72 and had the highest average (68.7) among the top ten leading run-scorers of the 2022 IPL campaign. He was an important figure in the Gujarat Titans team that won the league on Sunday evening in Ahmedabad.
Bavuma expressed his excitement and joy for seeing a teammate coming to his own in a big tournament like the IPL.
“It’s very exciting. It’s always good to have guys who’re in form. A guy like David lifted the trophy with the Gujarat Titans team. The confidence that he’ll bring within the team, we look forward to that.”
Over the years, David Miller has always floated up and down the batting order in the national team. He batted at five or six in most of his international career. It was understandable for him to float looking at the batting lineup the Proteas had in most of Miller’s career.
But after the 2019/20 retirements of some of the Proteas’ experienced batters, there was justified anticipation of Miller playing a more mature and perhaps more important role within the batting group.
But the duo of Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram have overtaken Miller in positions 3 or 4 respectively. Both batters haven’t even played 35 T20Is and can’t be seen in the same light as Miller who is the most experienced T20I cricketer in the squad with 95 T20Is.
The success he achieved in the IPL this past season amplified an already heated discussion among fans and pundits. The discussion is whether Miller’s strengths are being maximized and whether or not he is happy with his role in the proteas side.
“He’s performed exceedingly well at the IPL and I’m sure that will do a world of good for his confidence. I guess whatever feelings of insecurity that may be there, if there are those feelings within our team, I guess one will need to have those conversations. In the conversations that I’ve had with David, he’s never expressed those types of feelings to me,” said Bavuma.
“As far as I know, David is still an integral member of our team and we hope those performances can continue. In terms of him batting longer, that’s been the conversation over the years. He kind of understands where he fits win within the team. But again, if he feels he can contribute better in a different position, then a conversation can be had in that regard.
“There’s no way we’re going to stifle him or restrict David in any way or any manner. That’s how we try to treat all players. We try to set them up in positions where they can succeed and make strong plays for the team,” he concluded.
The Proteas are set for departure on Wednesday, the 1st of June and will get the series underway on the 9th of June.
We did a reaction of Bavuma’s press conference:
Also, watch our conversation about David Miller’s position:
