South African big-hitter David Miller says playing for Kings XI has made him a better batsman.
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Miller famously scored a 38-ball hundred in the 2013 IPL and has emerged as one of the most aggressive and destructive scorers in world cricket.
Miller said: “Yeah, definitely. I feel I have improved as a batsman. I have learnt to do the right things and that adds to my confidence.
“But I won’t call myself a finished product. I am still lucky to be learning everyday in my endeavour to get better.
“IPL is a big tournament and performing for KXIP gives me a huge high.
“Over the past few seasons, I have learnt to assess various situations and play accordingly.”
Miller topped the averages for Kings XI last year with 44.60 but his 446 runs had him third on the list behind Glenn Maxwell and Virender Sehwag.
Both those two have returned for Punjab as they open their campaign against Rajasthan Royals on Friday, and Miller believes a settled squad will give them a good chance of mirroring their achievements of last year where they were runners-up.
He added: “The key will be about sticking to the basics. Our advantage is having the same team. It helps in preparing the strategy as you know the strengths of your team.
“We have to follow up our last year’s performance with an even stronger show this time. We will also have to manage our training sessions well.”
Our lions @MitchJohnson398, David Miller, @akshar2026 & Viru Paaji enjoying a game of Carrom between training breaks. pic.twitter.com/LeRNHalNQY
— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) April 8, 2015
Kings XI can boast some of the game’s biggest-hitters in their side but Rajasthan mentor Rahul Dravid is convinced his side have one of the best all-round batting line-ups in the competition.
Rajasthan possess Australian trio Shane Watson, Steve Smith and James Faulkner as well as India international Ajinkya Rahane and the talented Sanju Samson.
Dravid said: “We are excited about the squad and the quality in it. We have batsmen up to No8 and we also have all-rounders.
“We are a balanced side, but all the teams are good. One would tend to agree that all teams would have a few areas to improve.”
