Barbados Royals on Wednesday announced the appointment of experienced South African batter David Miller as their captain for the 2022 season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).Miller, who is currently South Africa's stand-in captain for the three T20Is against England, will be working closely with Head Coach Trevor Penney and Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara, with whom he has played under during his time at the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"During my time at the Royals in the IPL, I always felt very valued and have been able to establish a deep connection with the team. It is an exciting time for me to come to the Barbados Royals, and a privilege to have been appointed as the Captain."
"It is a team that has an abundance of young and experienced talent from the Caribbean and I am looking forward to working with the entire group to get down to achieving our objectives for the 2022 season," stated an elated Miller, who helped his new IPL franchise Gujarat Titans lift the trophy this year.
Miller returns to the CPL after a hiatus of three seasons, having last represented Jamaica Tallawahs in 2018 and St Lucia Zouks (now St Lucia Kings) in 2016. The middle-order batter has accumulated 332 runs in 15 innings in the CPL, at a strike rate of over 146.
In the 2022 season of the IPL, Miller was in stunning form, scoring 481 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 142.73."Having worked with David (Miller) before at the Rajasthan Royals, we knew he has a cricketing brain which not only reads situations very well on the field, but is also very passionately involved off the field.
He is someone who helps in creating a perfect environment for his teammates to excel in, and that is what we are expecting out of him here at Barbados, where he will be leading the franchise.""He has shown tremendous experience and guile in the last few months, and drove his team to IPL glory...unfortunately beating us in the final! We are all delighted to have signed him and look forward to working with him during the season."
"I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Jason (Holder) for his contribution to the team as the captain, and for agreeing to our decision of having a new leader for the team. He is one of the pillars of this Barbados side and will continue to remain so going forward," said Penney.
Barbados Royals have retained a strong West Indies core that includes Holder, Oshane Thomas, Obed McCoy, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr., Devon Thomas, and Nyeem Young. The local players will be complemented by experienced T20 specialists like Miller, Quinton de Kock, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Azam Khan and Corbin Bosch.
With Miller only arriving for the T20 season, Barbados Royals have also announced their captain for the inaugural edition of THE 6IXTY tournament which occurs beforehand. Mayers, the West Indies all-rounder and Barbados local, will lead the Royals in the new innovation-driven tournament.
Mayers, 29, has become pivotal for the West Indies in recent times, serving some memorable displays across formats, contributing with both bat and ball. He has been an important member of the Royals' setup since 2020, being an integral part of the central core, and will now step into the leadership role in this new format for the two-time CPL champions.
THE 6IXTY is Cricket West Indies and the Caribbean Premier League's new 60-ball tournament featuring some of the top cricketers from around the world. The tournament will run from August 24 to 28 and will immediately be followed by the Caribbean Premier League which will be played from August 30 to September 30.