David Miller's batting was suffering because of burden of captaincy, says Sanjay Bangar

In a press conference ahead of Sunday’s IPL match against Gujarat Lions, KXIP coach Sanjay Bangar held forth on the captaincy issue. It is not common for teams to sack captains midway through seasons, and so the news of David Miller being replaced by Murali Vijay had been received with some surprise.

Sunday’s match will be a clash between the league leaders and the last-placed KXIP, and Murali Vijay will be leading the side for the first time. Vijay is the 9th ever KXIP captain, and he finds himself with the unenvious task of trying to rescue a sinking team’s fortunes.

Bangar said, "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.

"David (Miller) is an integral part of the team and we are looking forward to his vital contribution with the bat.”

Miller has been a star with the bat for Punjab many times in the past, even having earned the ‘Killer Miller’ moniker for his exploits in the IPL. It is on the basis of his success with the bat that he was probably named leader after previous captain George Bailey was let go off.

However, Miller has suffered a modest start to this year’s campaign, scoring 76 runs in 6 matches, at an average of 15.2. He has managed to lead his team to only one victory.

‘Decision taken in team’s interest’

It was felt that a change in leadership was required, and up stepped Murali Vijay. Contrary to expectations, the opener has turned out to be the player with his place in the side most ensured. He has scored 143 runs from the same number of matches.

Bangar said he was the person who communicated the news of his sacking to Miller.

"As a coach it’s my job and I had to communicate to him and he took the decision in the right spirit. The decision was taken for the team’s interest."

With his previous experience of having led Tamil Nadu in some T20 and List A competitions, and with the rest of his KXIP teammates struggling to find form, Vijay was an automatic choice. Bangar said that the Tamil Nadu batsman is eager to take on the added responsibility.

It shall be interesting to see if he manages to have better fortunes than Miller as captain, but his team owner is one of those who are rallying behind him.

I'd like to wish @lionsdenkxip and the Kxip boys all the Very Best for the game today We need to win today... Come on boys ! #KXIPvsGL

— Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) May 1, 2016