Miller refreshed and ready for the T20 series after return saying he is ‘Feeling strong, fit and ready to go’.
‘Feeling strong, fit and ready to go’ – Miller back as SA begin T20 redemption run.
Back-to-back Test series in the subcontinent are the end of South Africa’s serious business. Additionally, their experimentation during an ODI series that started preparations for the 2027 home World Cup is over. The exciting part is about to begin: a three-month-long T20 carnival.
There are five matches against India, three against the West Indies, a month of SA20, and the major event—the T20 World Cup, when South Africa hopes to improve on their 2024 performance. There, they went on an incredible eight-match winning streak to go to the final and had one hand on the trophy before India emerged victorious in a stunning collapse.
One of the most upset as South Africa lost another championship was David Miller, who was dismissed at the start of the final over with 16 runs remaining.
He has only participated in 10 of the 54 eligible white-ball international matches since the competition. In the Champions Trophy semi-final in March, he made his final game for South Africa and struck a century in a defeat. Since then, South Africa has changed white-ball coaches, won the World Test Championship final, and participated in some thrilling series against countries ranging from India to Zimbabwe.
“It’s just great to be back. It’s been great watching the guys back at home even though I always feel I want to be there, but the guys have been doing so well, and it’s been lovely to watch,” Miller said from Cuttack, where the series against India will begin on Tuesday. “It’s been an interesting couple of months for me, just being at home and reflecting on a few things was really cool. I moved into a different space by trying out different things with my body and tapping into a few different training regimes. It was actually a really good time away. I enjoyed it. You’ve got to take the positives from what’s negative so it was really good. I’m feeling strong. I’m feeling fit and I’m feeling ready to go.”
“I’ve spoken to a lot of different people and teams that have been very successful over the years with league trophies and World Cups and I don’t think there’s really one recipe to win a World Cup. It takes a team effort, it takes a group effort, management and players included. And it’s about standing up when the moments matter,” he said.
“Looking back on that previous World Cup where we got to the final, there were some very, very close games throughout that World Cup and we got over the line, so you build confidence as you go along. We’re going to need some of that moving forward. In terms of players, there’s a huge group and pool of players that are putting up their hands so it’s going to be tough for the selectors. We’re really in a good space.”