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Miller sacked as Kings XI skipper

Floundering franchise replaces South African with Indian opener Murali Vijay following string of poor results

Off the back of five losses in their first six games, the Kings XI Punjab have stripped David Miller of the captaincy.

Miller has been replaced by experienced opening batsman Murali Vijay as skipper for the remainder of the season.

The South African top-order batsman has struggled with the bat this season, averaging just 15.2.

Despite his poor form, Miller has been backed by the franchise.

"David Miller will continue to be an integral part of the team," Kings XI said in a statement.

The change came not long after Kings XI posted a video on YouTube that featured Miller expressing his enjoyment captaining the team.

"It's been an interesting three weeks," Miller said when asked how challenging it was leading the side.

"I've learnt a heap load and it's something I've always wanted to do.

"To have the opportunity at a big stage like this has been really good experience.

"I've actually enjoyed it more and more as I've gone on.

"Obviously the results haven't been our way but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable.

"There's a lot more on the plate mentally; you've just got to be tuned in every single ball in the field - what you want to do, tactics, this and that - there's a lot going on. But like I said, feeling more comfortable and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can as I go along and be nice and attacking as well.

"It's just weighing up a few things but really enjoying it so far."

Miller was named the Kings XI skipper in February, replacing former Australia ODI and T20 skipper George Bailey.

Bailey had been the Kings XI skipper in 2014 and 2015, but the Tasmanian was not retained by the club for the current season.

Miller had little captaincy experience before his appointment but is seen as a key component of their batting. He joined the franchise in 2011.

In a poor 2015 for the franchise as they collected the wooden spoon, Miller was the only batsman to score more than 300 runs, and finished the season with 357 at 32.45 at a strike rate of 134.21.

Miller was one of four overseas players retained by Kings XI this year, with Australians Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson the others.