South African batsman David Miller on Monday (September 14) lauded MS Dhoni’s finishing skills, saying he wishes to remain calm like the former Indian skipper in high-pressure run chases.
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Miller will turn out for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2020 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) after spending eight years with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).
"I absolutely love the way Dhoni goes about his business. Certainly his calmness - you just think he's always under control. The way he portrays himself, that's something he's extremely good at and I do enjoy that about him. I try and give off the same energy," Miller told 'ESPNcricinfo'.
The southpaw further expressed his admiration for Dhoni and termed him as “one of the best finishers ever.”
"...he's got his strengths and weaknesses as a batsman and so do I. I tend to be in awe of some of his chases rather than 'I want to bat like him'. I suppose I just want to finish games like he does.
"Technique-wise and the way you go about it, we all have our own ways. I don't think I can rate myself or put myself in a category.
"We'll see how my career unfolds and finishes and then we can look back and sort of judge. Definitely, Dhoni is one of the best finishers ever; he's proven it many times. I love watching him play."
In the last three seasons, Miller played only 18 games for KXIP as his performances were not up to the mark.
When asked what went wrong for him at KXIP in recent years, the 31-year-old replied: "The last couple of years I haven't been playing for Kings XI. I suppose that's one of the reasons why I haven't been winning games as well. But in terms of consistency, I feel I'm better than ever before. I'm a lot more experienced now. I know what I'm expected to do.
"In the IPL I had one bad season for Kings XI - and when I say bad season, it wasn't as good as the previous ones that I had. It wasn't a horrific season, to say the least."
David Miller took the IPL by storm way back in 2013 as he smashed 418 runs with a strike-rate of 164.56. In the subsequent season, he aggregated 446 runs at a strike rate of 149.16. But the left-hander failed to live up to the expectations thereafter.
"I missed the boat the last couple of years in terms of playing and I think it's created a thing that I've not been playing well. The games that I've played in, I have contributed," said Miller.
