‘Wanted to Move to a New Team,’ Says RR’s New Recruit David Miller

Nine years with Kings XI Punjab and 31-year-old David Miller is getting set to earn his debut cap with new team Rajasthan Royals as they start their campaign on Tuesday night, against Chennai Super Kings.

While he’s joined a franchise that has the most star-studded line-up of overseas players, Miller told The Quint he had been looking to change teams and is excited about playing in Rajasthan’s pink jersey.

‘I have been wanting to move to another team and I am really excited about the challenge. Being in a new team is really refreshing and you can learn so much more from different players,’ Miller told The Quint.

While a large chunk of RR’s overseas players joined the franchise this week – having been part of the England vs Australia ODI series – Miller has spent the last 3 weeks getting to know his new team-mates in IPL’s ‘new normal’ bio-bubble.

Due to the pandemic, the IPL is being played with severe restrictions on movement with teams only being allowed to travel from the hotel to the stadium and practise. There is to be no outside contact which means players will have no outlet to fall back on if they want a break from everything IPL, in the 3 months they spend with their teams.

‘It is very mentally challenging to be honest. I think things will ease up as we go along in the competition but it is something which we have spoken about as a team, to be mentally strong along that area of not being very easy to get down. You know, to go out food with friends or family, or play golf, we can’t do those kinds of things,’ said Miller.

With a stress on players’ mental health due to the time they spend away from their families during this pandemic, some teams have arranged for mental health experts to be available to the players if they need to speak to someone.

‘It is something that we have to be open and honest about our situation. That’s the beauty of getting here early that we really got to know each other really well. We can be honest, open, and vulnerable about these things because these are real things that can affect team performance and individual performance. But I think everyone has this support structure back at home if necessary,’ said Miller.

(With inputs from Ashish Satyam)