Playing under Adam Gilchrist in IPL was dream come true, reveals David Miller

Having carried a reputation for himself as a clean striker of the ball, David Miller became an overnight sensation in the IPL, when he played one of the greatest knocks the tournament has ever witnessed, in 2013 against RCB in Mohali. A 38-ball 101 ensured an improbable win for Punjab on the night and ever since, Miller has been viewed as one of the most valuable assets in the IPL. 

Reflecting on the experience, Miller revealed that Adam Gilchrist, who was Kings XI’s captain back then, was one of his childhood heroes and stated that playing under the captaincy of the Australian wicket-keeper was a dream come true. Remarkably, Miller also revealed that it was incidentally an injury to skipper Gilchrist that propelled the South African’s name to be included in the starting XI against Bangalore that night in Mohali. 

"Adam Gilchrist was the captain at that time, growing up I always looked up to him and Matthew Hayden, I watched Australia play at 3 am in the morning, Gilchrist was captaining me, we had a lot of greats in our side, so it was a dream for me," Miller told Pommie Mbangwa in a chat, reported TOI.

"In my first year, I did not get a single game at the IPL, halfway through my second year, I got three games and then in my third year, Adam Gilchrist was retiring, he actually pulled his both hamstrings, I then got a game and that's when I played my 101 run knock against RCB.”

Having played eight seasons and 79 matches for Kings XI Punjab, Miller has been one of the cult heroes of the franchise and the 30-year-old turned back the clock and recalled the time when he was first signed by the franchise. The South African, who was an IPL finalist in 2014, revealed that it was an injury to Stuart Broad that pushed KXIP to sign him as a replacement, in 2012, after which he spent seven more seasons with the franchise. The Proteas star described his journey with KXIP as an incredible one.

"The first year, I went into the auction and I did not get picked up, literally 10 days before the IPL, I got a call from Kings XI Punjab and they said we are selecting you and you need to come over as soon as possible, there was an injury to Stuart Broad so I packed my bags and I went to India.

"That's where it all started, it was an incredible journey, firstly it was a just a one year deal, but then they retained me for the next two years at my base price. The first three years of mine at IPL were incredible.”

Miller’s association with KXIP came to an end last year, as in the IPL 2020 auction, the southpaw was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for his base price of 75 lakh.