South Africa batter David Miller feels the upcoming five-match T20I series is going to be a challenging one for the visitors. India hasn’t picked their best team as the selectors have rested captain Rohit Sharma, talisman batter Virat Kohli and gun fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
However, India is always a force to reckon with in its own conditions. The selectors have picked youngsters like Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik, who had impressed with their skills in the recently concluded Tata IPL 2022.
On the other hand, David Miller was also impressive while playing for eventual champions Gujarat Titans as he added the finishing touches on numerous occasions. Miller scored 481 runs in 16 matches at an average of 68.71 and a strike rate of 142.72 in the tournament. Thus, the southpaw played an instrumental role in the success of his team.
The left-hander will look to continue his good form in the series against India and he could bat up the order, as hinted by South African captain Temba Bavuma.
Speaking to SA Cric Mag, Miller said, “Yeah, team India is team India. I think in the last couple of years due to the IPL, they’ve got a lot of depth. Very experienced players and dealing with a lot of pressure, the IPL will definitely help them in international cricket. So, we definitely know they don’t have their strongest team.”
“But they are a serious team nonetheless with some serious match-winners and it’s going to be a challenging series and we are aware of that. It’s always nice to play in India against India. Hopefully, it can be a nice competitive series and we can beat team.”
Miller added that they have built a nice squad in the last couple of years and the players are understanding their respective roles in the team.
“Yeah, I think, looking back on our last two months, we haven’t played any game since the World Cup last year. So, just getting back into the swing of things with our T20 squad. We’ve built up a nice squad in the last year and a half and guys are understanding their roles a lot better.”
“So, I think it’s just about ironing out a few things and try to get that blueprint back to where we were and winning and gaining confidence leading up to the World Cup, which would be priceless.”
The first T20I between India and South Africa will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.
