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Miller relishes leadership role when SA take on Sri Lanka in the three-match T20 series

Proteas limited overs batsman David Miller is relishing the opportunity of guiding debutants when South Africa take on Sri Lanka in the three-match T20 series which starts at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday afternoon.

The second match is scheduled for the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on January 22 and the series will be concluded at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town three days later before the start of the five ODIs.

AB de Villiers‚ Hashim Amla‚ Faf du Plessis‚ JP Duminy‚ Kagiso Rabada‚ Vernon Philander and Quinton de Kock have been rested for the opening two T20 matches to make way for fringe players.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) selectors have rewarded Lungi Ngidi‚ Theunis de Bruyn‚ Reeza Hendricks‚ Heino Kuhn‚ Mangaliso Mosehle‚ Dane Paterson and Jon-Jon Smuts with call-ups after their impressive performances at franchise level.

“It is exciting to be faced with the opportunity of leading such a group of talented players‚ some of whom will be making their debuts‚" he said on Tuesday.

"They have done really well on the domestic front‚ they were picked purely from their impressive performances for their franchises and they all deserve to be here.

"It is really exciting to be part of something like this where a number of players will be getting the opportunity to play for their country for the first time.”

Batsman Farhaan Behardien was chosen as stand-in captain for the opening two matches and Miller said he will support him as the most important thing is to win the series.

“Captaining is always a huge honour because I have captained six games in the IPL but Fudgie (Behardien) is
captaining and I am sure it is the same with him.

"We are all right behind him and personally I feel I will add value whether I am captain or not.

"I will work hard behind the scenes with the youngsters who I will also be learning from.

"I will be an example as a senior player and I am also looking forward to helping him (Behardien) and learn from the inexperienced players.”

Having last played a T20 match during the World T20 tournament in India in March last year‚ Miller said it was good to be back in the green and gold and he was raring to go.

“It has been good to be back in the domestic fold in the last few months and getting some game time and going through some routine.

"I also watched some Test cricket‚ it is good to be back in the green and gold and I am looking forward to the next few weeks.” - TMG Digital

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