Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani has backed David Miller after criticism of his decision-making, saying the veteran batsman responded in character to win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Miller came under scrutiny Delhi’s narrow loss to Gujarat Titans on April 8 when he opted against playing a single with two needed off the last ball. The decision to deny Kuldeep Yadav a strike drew criticism after the team failed despite Miller’s efforts to take the game deep.
A few days later, the South African found himself in a similar situation and delivered. Chasing 41 off the last four overs against RCB, Miller turned the game around in the last overhe smashed two sixes off Romario Shepherd before capping the chase with a boundary to complete a six-wicket win.
“I still believe he made the right call. We believe in you. And he literally showed us faith in two games,” Badani said.
“I understand everybody has an opinion. But to come out of it, I think he’s shown character. And I think the world sees that he’s somebody who can finish games. He’s done that in the past. And we trust him.”
Badani said the team fully supported Miller even after the defeat to Gujarat. “If you go back and see the visuals and the way we supported him even after that one-run loss, the conversation from the captain to the coach, to the management, to the players was straightforward. It’s absolutely fine, it can happen,” he added.
DC RIZVI BACK, AXAR FIT
Badani also threw his support for Sameer Rizvi, highlighting the youngster’s influence at key moments.
“If you’ve got someone winning two games with one hand, the first game this year was man of the match, the second game this year was man of the match, I’m happy with that,” he said.
“He’s in a great space. In this format, if someone has won you two games single-handedly, he’s actually got three man of the matches from last year. I don’t think many of you will remember that the last game he played for us he was man of the match,” Badani added.
He also confirmed that there are no fitness concerns around captain Axar Patel. “All good. He’s ready to play,” he said.
SRH APPROACH could suit DC
Looking ahead to the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Badani said the opposition’s aggressive approach could work in Delhi’s favour.
“When you have a high-risk side, it also gives you a chance to pick wickets,” he said, pointing to Delhi’s bowling strength this season.
“I think when you go back and see the stats and the numbers that pretty much tells you that we were maybe the best bowling side right now. And when you have a high-risk side, it also gives you a chance to pick wickets,” he added.
Delhi will enter the contest confident of their finishing skills as well as the bowling attack as they prepare to face an aggressive Sunrisers Hyderabad side.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
21 Apr 2026 11:29 IST
