Miller believes 31-run over made Saifuddin stronger

German philosopher Freidrich Nietzsche once said, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. South African hard hitter David Miller believes the rampage he indicted on young Bangladeshi bowler Mohammad Saifuddin three years ago made the latter a stronger, sharper individual and player. 

In 2017, left-handed middle-order batsman Miller was just one hit away from joining Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh as the only batsmen to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket when he smashed the then 21-year old bowler all over the park to get 31 runs in an over of a T20 international match.

He however, broker record for the fastest T20I century getting to the milestone in just 35 deliveries in that match, the second T20I in Bangladesh tour of South Africa as right-arm pacer Saifuddin left the field with a horror and the visitors lose the game by 83 runs to concede a series whitewash. Saifuddin had conceded five over boundaries in the over and a single on the last ball bowling the 19th over of the innings.

“No bowler wants to be hit for 31 runs in an over and it is never nice for them. But you know in the competitive side as a batter you take a strike you want to take the bowler as each ball comes. Looking back to the over you know 31 runs, definitely he [Saifuddin] will be matured through that over, through that moment,” said Miller to Dhaka Tribune on Monday.

“If you reflect on your past closely that will help your career move forward. So, it is a big learning curve for the youngsters and anyone really and that’s what experience is all about. The more you play the more you sort of go through the hardships and hard time you know you gain and learn so much,” Miller added.

With the world dealing the coronavirus pandemic, Miller, like most other cricketers in the globe is keeping himself at home and wait for the rage of the virus to come down. Besides ensuring to make the best of the time spent with the family, Miller, who has appeared in 132 ODIs and 78 T20Is, is putting a thought on what he needs and has achieved in his career.  

Miller was propelled into a position of leadership in the past summer as a number of seniors in the Proteas setup called retirements while a few remained unavailable. The explosive left-hander had spent most of his international career at the back of the seniors in the dressing room with Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis playing as the leaders.

“For me it has been nice to be at home [in this lockdown] and take care of something that I haven’t been able to for many years. Then also it has been a great time to get fit and work on certain parts of my body that I haven’t been able to do for the busy schedule that we got in the normal circumstances. So, it really is a great time sort of reflecting on my career where I have come, what I have done and what I want to achieve that is still coming. So, it has been a positive time although it has been a tough time at the same time. Hopefully things will get settle down and we will get back to the rhythm,” explained Miller.

Speaking on a common topic like, what it will be like when cricket returns to the field, Miller said, “Yes, I think the corona virus hasn’t helped anyone. Talking about the T20 World Cup, we haven’t really heard whether it is on or off. So, we are actually unsure of what’s going to happen as it seems to be on hold or in the air at the moment with regards to the tournament. As a player it has been challenging but as everyone is saying we are in the same boat.”