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regular-article-logo Friday, 26 April 2024

Success gives David Miller slot option

The batter has failed to impress for South Africa in white ball cricket in the last few years

Our Bureau Cape Town Published 01.06.22, 02:04 AM
David Miller

David Miller File Photo

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is open to discussing with David Miller about batting higher up the order in T20Is as the team prepares for a five-match tour of India starting in June.

Miller has failed to impress for South Africa in white ball cricket in the last few years, but had an outstanding Indian Premier League season with champions Gujarat Titans in a stunning reversal of form.

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He batted mostly at No.5, as opposed to his usual six with South Africa, where he scored 481 with the best average in the competition of 68.71 at a strike rate of 143.

“He has performed exceedingly well in IPL. Whatever feelings of insecurity he had are gone now,” Bavuma told reporters in Cape Town on Tuesday.

“We will have a conversation. He is an important member of the team. If he feels he can add more value higher up the order, it is a conversation to have.”

South Africa will want to settle their batting order in this series ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

“The important thing is to prepare for the World Cup,” Bavuma says. “The guys need to be in a competitive space. And the India series will be an important part of the competitive process, even if the conditions will be different in Australia.”

Bavuma added that as much they want to win the series, there will be an element of rotation to manage the burden. “We haven’t got together as a team but the rest of the (non-IPL players) have had good sessions. We will arrive a bit early to get familiarised.”

The South African captain is aware of Kashmir pacer Umran Malik and his exploits in the IPL.

“He is an exciting pace bowling prospect. IPL has been able to unearth these talents. We too have bowlers who can bowl at 150kmph consistently,” Bavuma said.

Dewald Brevis is another exciting prospect who showed his talent for Mumbai Indians this season. The youngster struck a quickfire 49 against Punjab Kings in Pune, which featured five huge sixes. Brevis hasn’t been included in the squad though.

“He (Brevis) is another exciting prospect. But he has not played any four-day game in South Africa. He needs to play a few first-class games. Otherwise, it will be unfair to throw him into international cricket.”

The series gets under way in Delhi on June 9 and finishes in Bangalore 10 days later. The South African team will assemble in Delhi on Thursday.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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