CPL 2022: David Miller Announced As Captain of Barbados Royals

The two-time champions Barbados Royals, on Wednesday (July 27) announced South African batter David Miller as their captain for the 2022 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). 

David Miller was a part of Gujarat Titans this season

The Proteas star batter is making a comeback into the Caribbean T20 extravaganza after three seasons. The swashbuckling batter last represented Jamaica Tallawahs in 2018 and St Lucia Zouks (now St Lucia Kings) in 2016.

Miller has been in imperious form with the bat this year. He recently helped Gujarat Titans lift the IPL trophy in their debut season by amassing 481 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 142.73.

The South African batter will be working closely with Head Coach Trevor Penney and Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, with whom he shares a strong rapport as he played under the Sri Lankan legend during his stint at the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  

David Miller looking forward to leading the Royals

Barbados Royals have won the CPL title twice since it's inception

The newly appointed captain of the Barbados Royals expressed his joy after stepping into the captain's shoes. 

"During my time at the Royals in the IPL, I always felt very valued and have been able to establish a deep connection with the team. It is an exciting time for me to come to the Barbados Royals, and a privilege to have been appointed as the Captain," said Miller. 

"It is a team that has an abundance of young and experienced talent from the Caribbean and I am looking forward to working with the entire group to get down to achieving our objectives for the 2022 season," he added.

Trevor Penney is in awe of David Miller's game reading skills

Head Coach Trevor Penney, who has worked with Miller at Rajasthan Royals, heaped praise on the South African batter, stating that the 33-year-old has got a brilliant cricketing mind and ability to read the game well. 

"Having worked with David (Miller) before at the Rajasthan Royals, we knew he has a cricketing brain which not only reads situations very well on the field but is also very passionately involved off the field. He is someone who helps in creating a perfect environment for his teammates to excel in, and that is what we are expecting out of him here at Barbados, where he will be leading the franchise."

Penny further cited the example of the latest edition of the Indian Premier League where Miller played a brilliant role for his franchise Gujarat Titans and got his team out of trouble on several occasions. 

Miller played a sensational unbeaten knock of 38-ball 68 against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 to help Gujarat seal the finals berth in the tournament. He was also adjudged Player of the Match for his blitzkrieg knock. 

Miller, currently in England, has been named the captain of South Africa for the five-match T20I series against the Three Lions, starting from Wednesday, July 27 at Bristol.  

Also Read: Martin Guptill goes past Rohit Sharma to become the leading run-scorer in T20Is