‘Privileged to work under him’ – David Miller hails ‘team-man’ Hardik Pandya

David Miller and Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

South African batter David Miller considers himself fortunate to be playing under Hardik Pandya for Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Miller was acquired by the the Titans in the 2022 IPL mini-auction and helped his team win the title in their maiden season. He returned to the squad after missing the IPL 2023 opener against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and played against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on April 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Miller described Hardik as one of the best leaders he has ever worked with. The 33-year-old also added that despite having played against Hardik so many times, he has got to know him well off the field since joining GT.

“Hardik is definitely one of the top leaders I have worked with. I’m very privileged to work under him. My first one (captain) in the IPL was Adam Gilchrist. Hardik, coming from a place where I never really knew him, played a lot against him, but to know him really well off the field,” Miller said in a post-match press conference.

Miller continued by stating that Hardik is his own person and that the skipper instills a lot of confidence in the team. He also stated that the all-rounder is a huge team player who makes time for the young talent in the squad. The Proteas batter further stated that he admires Hardik’s leadership abilities.

“He is his own person and I feel like he instills a lot of confidence within the squad. A huge team man and makes a lot of time for the younger guys as well as making good decisions and big calls. What he says kind of goes and you need that as a leader. I’m really enjoying his leadership and obviously the decisions on the field,” he added.

Sai Sudarshan is a seriously talented player: David Miller

Talking about the match agaisnt the Capitals, the Titants won the toss and chose to field. The defending champions restricketed the hosts to 162/8 in 20 overs. In the chase, the Titans were in trouble at 54/3. However, Sai Sudharsan played a fine knock, scoring an unbeaten 62 off 48 to lead his team to victory.

Miller praised the young batter, who was the defending champions’ first impact player. He said that Sudharsan is a very talented player and went on to say that he is pleased with his performance in the first two games.

“Sai, obviously, played few games last year. To come and do what he’s done in the last two games is very encouraging for the team. He is a seriously talented player and we need him in the squad. It’s nice to see him do really well. Pretty happy with his performance and it’s great to see him get the Man of the Match award.”