A hard-hitting left-hander with a penchant for clearing the boundary, David Miller made famous the phrase: "If it's in the arc, it's out the park." Miller is a self-styled finisher, who is strong off the front and back foot and eager to swing the arms, as well as a gun fielder.

He was schooled at the esteemed Martizburg College and made his first-class debut at 18. Two years later, he was part of a South African A side that took on Bangladesh A and finished as the second highest run-scorer, which earned him a senior call-up. He travelled with South Africa to the West Indies in 2010. He did not do enough to travel to the 2011 World Cup or the 2012 World T20. It was only in 2013 that became a regular at international level, where he was most often deployed as a finisher.

It took till 2015 for Miller's first ODI century: 130 against West Indies in January, followed swiftly by an unbeaten 138 two matches later which sent him to the World Cup in good form. Miller spent even longer waiting for a milestone in T20I cricket. His first fifty in the format came in March 2016. Both speak more to lack of opportunity in limited-overs cricket, rather than lack of ability.

At the IPL, Miller was one of the mainstays of the Kings XI Punjab. So much so that, in 2016, he was appointed the franchise's captain despite his limited experience in the role in South Africa. He led Kwa-Zulu Natal in the Africa Cup T20.

Miller's international commitments have left little time for first-class cricket, where his average sits in the mid-30s but his ambitions to play Test cricket remain high.
Firdose Moonda