IPL 9: David Miller's batting was suffering because of captaincy, says Sanjay Bangar

Coach Sanjay Bangar defends team’s decision to drop the South African as captain of Kings XI Punjab; Murali Vijay takes over leadership role

Rajkot: Kings XI Punjab assistant coach Sanjay Bangar on Saturday defended the team’s management decision to dump David Miller from captaincy, saying it was necessary for the interest of the side.

Kings XI Punjab’s David Miller is bowled by Gujarat Lions’ Dwayne Bravo during the IPL in Mohali last month. pic/afp

Miller was removed as Kings XI Punjab captain ahead of their match against table-toppers Gujarat Lions. Murali Vijay has been named captain of the team.

David Miller

"We felt that David Miller’s batting was suffering due to the extra responsibility of leading the side. The decision was made just to free him from the extra burden of captaincy," Bangar told in a press conference here. "David (Miller) is an integral part of the team and we are looking forward to his vital contribution with the bat," he added.

Murali Vijay

Miller has scored only 76 runs so far in six matches and under his captaincy Punjab won only one game against Rising Pune Supergiants, while losing five matches to lie at the bottom of the points table.

Sanjay Bangar

Bangar said: "As a coach it’s my job and I had to communicate to him and he took the decision in right spirit. The decision was taken for team’s interest." Asked about Vijay, Bangar said: "He (Vijay) is very keen to take the responsibility. Tamil Nadu has won domestic T20 and one day tournament under his captaincy, so he has the experience of leading
the side."

76
Number of runs scored by David Miller in six matches in the ongoing IPL @ 15.20

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