David Miller Recalls The Time When He Got His First IPL Call-Up By Kings XI Punjab During IPL 2011

David Miller may have had a lean run-of-form in the past few years but at his absolute peak, ‘Killer Miller’ as he was endearingly called, was a sight to behold.

Miller was the bedrock of the Kings XI Punjab for a major part of the last decade until back-to-back lean seasons forced the Priety Zinta-led franchise to let go of the South African ahead of the 2020 IPL auction.

Interestingly, Miller had gone unsold in the 2011 IPL auctions and it was only an injury to Stuart Broad that paved the way for his entry in the cash-rich league.

“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,” David Miller said in an Instagram Live session with former cricketer-turned commentator Pommie Mbangwa.

“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,” David Miller added.

‘It was a dream for me’- David Miller on joining a star-studded KXIP unit

For Miller, who had grown up idolizing Adam Gilchrist, it was a dream come true.

“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 added.

“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,” the 30-year-old said.

The next three editions saw Miller at his absolute best as he racked up 418, 446, and the 357 runs at a strike-rate of 164.56, 149.16, and 134.21 respectively.

Miller went on to rack up 1850 runs in 79 games for KXIP between 2012-2019. He would have made his Rajasthan Royals debut this season but for the global pandemic which forced the IPL to get postponed for an indefinite period of time.

Also Read: David Miller Recalls South Africa’s Disastrous End To 2015 World Cup Campaign