IPL 2020 | Tend to be in awe of the way MS Dhoni finishes matches, admits David Miller

On May 6, 2013, David Miller’s life changed forever, as with one knock, the southpaw went from a ‘potentially destructive player’ to one of the most destructive batsmen in the entire world. In what is considered as one of the greatest T20 knocks of all time, Miller struck an inhumane 38-ball 101* versus Virat Kohli’s RCB, immortalizing his name as one of the most destructive finishers in the world. The southpaw used the RCB game to catapult his career to the next level and the effect of the same was seen in the 2015 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, in which Miller struck an almost-match winning 18-ball 49 in a rain-shortened encounter.

Now 31, more experienced and less brutal, Miller is still considered an A-grade finisher but, like many of his compatriots, the Protean, too, could not help but express his admiration for Dhoni whilst talking about his role. In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Miller revealed that he often finds himself in awe of the veteran’s finishing but admitted that he goes about things his own way.

“I absolutely love the way Dhoni goes about his business. Certainly his calmness - you just think he's always under control. The way he portrays himself, that's something he's extremely good at and I do enjoy that about him. I try and give off the same energy. But in terms of an actual chase, he's got his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman and so do I. I tend to be in awe of some of his chases rather than "I want to bat like him.",” Miller told ESPNCricinfo.

“I suppose I just want to finish games like he does. Technique-wise and the way you go about it, we all have our own ways. I don't think I can rate myself or put myself in a category. We'll see how my career unfolds and finishes and then we can look back and sort of judge. Definitely Dhoni is one of the best finishers ever; he's proven it many times. I love watching him play.”

Unfortunately for Miller, the 2013 high lasted only a couple of years, as after a 2016 IPL campaign in which he averaged a mere 16.10, the southpaw’s Kings XI career fell off a cliff. Miller, who played only 18 games across the last 3 IPL seasons, admitted that the lack of game time hurt him, but revealed that with experience under his belt, he feels a lot more confident about his own ability. The 31-year-old, in fact, attested that his best is yet to come.

“The last couple of years I haven't been playing for Kings XI. I suppose that's one of the reasons why I haven't been winning games as well. But in terms of consistency, I feel I'm better than ever before. I'm a lot more experienced now. I know what I'm expected to do. On the international stage I feel like I'm doing really well. In the IPL I had one bad season for Kings XI - and when I say bad season, it wasn't as good as the previous ones that I had. It wasn't a horrific season, to say the least.

“Definitely (I feel my best is yet to come). I feel I'm very experienced, very well put together in my mind and a lot calmer. I'm still learning - everyone learns along the way. I'm certainly very excited about the latter part of my career and really looking forward to putting on some big performances. I've certainly got a lot to offer.”

Should he get picked in the RR side, Miller's first assignment in IPL 2020 will be against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah on September 22.