Paarl Royals announce David Miller as captain with typical tongue-in-cheek tweet

09/18/2022

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Paarl Royals have announced the skipper of their side for the first edition of the SA 20 League in the form of David Miller, an integral member of the Royals Sports Group. The Proteas is also the leader of the Barbados Royals in the CPL and has played two seasons for Rajasthan Royals in the past.

Paarl Royals have revealed David Miller will be leading their side in the inaugural edition of the all-new South African franchise T20 league, just a day ahead of the mega auction scheduled for September 19. The Proteas is one of the most experienced South African players in the present era and has played for the national team 250 times in white-ball cricket, aggregating nearly 5,500 runs. He has plied his trade in T20s all over the world racking up 400 caps and tallying 8,746 runs at an average of 36.14 and a strike rate of 138.53.

The 33-year-old has been associated with the Royals Sports Group, the owners of Paarl Royals, since 2020 when the Rajasthan Royals bought him at the auctions. He only played one game in his debut season for the franchise, before featuring nine times in 2021 and managing a half-century for his efforts as well. Miller was also acquired by their sister team Barbados Royals for the 2022 season and is currently captaining them in the Caribbean Premier League. He has been in brilliant form, managing 166 runs at an average of 83 in six innings at a phenomenal strike rate of 155.14.

The batter was in fine fettle during the latest edition of the Indian Premier League as well. Playing for the Gujarat Titans, he ended as the tournament's sixth-highest run-getter with 481 in 16 matches at an average of 68.71 while striking at 142.73. One of his best efforts came in the qualifier against his old team Royals, scoring 68(38) to lead the team to victory before a cameo of 32(19) in the final again against them saw the Titans clinch the trophy.

The Royals, known for their activity on social media, had made the headlines bantering Miller for performing against his former team and have used a similar humorous approach to announce him as the skipper of the Paarl Royals. A tweet with Miller in Barbados' jersey read 'hey (with the intention of being your captain),' using the popular meme template to break the news. The Proteas is set to represent the national team in the World T20 next month before he embarks on a new journey with Paarl in the first two months of 2023.