'Captaincy was affecting Miller's batting' - Bangar

Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar has said David Miller was relieved of captaincy since it affected his batting but emphasised that he still remained an "integral" member of the side. Miller, who was appointed captain ahead of the season, has batted six times and only managed 76 runs, the least among Kings XI's frontline batsmen who have played five or more innings.

"We felt that David's batting was suffering because of the extra responsibility of captaincy," Bangar said on the eve of his team's match against Gujarat Lions. "The decision was just to free him up from additional responsibility. We are looking forward to his contributions with the bat."

While Miller largely kept to himself at training, he appeared relaxed and completed his fielding drills before having a lengthy hit in the nets. Bangar said Miller had taken the decision in the "right spirit" and that the change in captaincy wouldn't affect the harmony in the side.

"IPL is such a format where best of the players sit out," he said. "It is not the first instance where mid-way through the season there has been a change in captaincy. I think eight or nine times in the past the captains have been changed. Basically, we're looking to turn things around and it is a step in that direction."

Bangar, however, disagreed with the notion that Miller's appointment in the first place was dictated by a lack of captaincy options. "[It is] just [like how] you pick a player and give him chances. If the player is not in a comfortable situation and if it is affecting his dual role in the team, you definitely try certain new things. We would really like to look forward than look back."

Meanwhile, the newly appointed captain M Vijay gathered the team in a huddle and led the warm-up routine which looked like an improvised version of a rugby scrum. "Crouch, set," he shouted as two groups of players, heads down and interlocked, attempted to be the first to pick up the cones placed in the middle. The exercise seemed to lighten the players' mood before they got down to some heavy-duty batting and bowling.

Bangar admitted to being impressed with Vijay's stints as captain in a few games during the Vijay Hazare 50-over tournament in 2009-10, which Tamil Nadu won, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s the same season, where the team made the semi-finals.

"I think he was very keen to take up the role," Bangar said. "He did it well and very successfully with the Tamil Nadu [in a few games in 2009-10] but after that he has not been available for Tamil Nadu on a regular basis. He has experience of captaincy. Also we felt that he settled into the team nicely, which wasn't the case last year. Again having him definitely will help the team quite a bit."

Bangar had said at the start of the tournament that he had to operate within the franchise's budgetary constraints. Kings XI bought only seven players in the auction with no obvious captaincy candidate. Was it frustrating for Bangar to not be able to put together the kind of team he probably wanted? "I would rather look at it from a different angle. I would rather see it as a very, very challenging position," he said. "I understand that at the end of the day, IPL is based on a business model where every franchise has a certain outcome in mind at the end of the season and we need to be working well within the boundaries set out by the organisation."