Who would you back out of Usman Khawaja and David Miller in SuperCoach BBL?

The axed opening Test batsmen pitted against one of the best short-form South African imports. If your team could only select Sydney Thunder’s Usman Khawaja or Hobart Hurricanes’ David Miller, who would you choose?

Sydney Thunder's Usman Khawaja will be one of the most owned players in SuperCoach BBL this season.

The axed opening Test batsmen pitted against one of the best short-form South African imports. If your team could only select Sydney Thunder’s Usman Khawaja or Hobart Hurricanes’ David Miller, who would you choose?

Stream international cricket Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS including every Australian Test, ODI and T20I on home soil. Get your 14-day free trial >

Both are priced at $198,500 and both bring to the table similar strengths, so let’s break down each SuperCoach BBL prospect in a head-to-head match-up.

WHY KHAWAJA?

Having been left out of the Test side, Usman Khawaja is set to play full time (or close to) for the Sydney Thunder in the upcoming BBL season for the Thunder and that surely means one thing; runs, and lots of them.

On that alone he’s going to be a walk-up start for many SuperCoach teams, but if we delve a little deeper, Khawaja’s influence with the bat is almost unmatched. Khawaja’s prowess in the short-form game is self-explanatory. He averages 50.3 over his domestic T20 career with the Thunder at a strike rate of 131.3. Those are some decent numbers!

The great news – or bad, depending on how you view it – for prospective SuperCoach BBL owners is that the Thunder are fielding a somewhat skinny batting line-up this year. Jos Buttler (England), Shane Watson (retired), Joe Root (England) and Kurtis Patterson (Scorchers) have all exited the club for the upcoming tournament, meaning there will be pressure on Khawaja to produce runs. His responsibility to open the batting has him in the box seat to be a huge earner in SuperCoach BBL.

But is there a worry the lack of class partners on offer might let him down? It seems like a frail debate given young guns Matt Gilkes and Jason Sangha look up to the task and fresh imports Alex Hales (England) and Chris Morris (South Africa) will also add to the Thunder batting line-up.

Yet what makes Khawaja an enticing prospect is the fact that his Marsh One-Day Cup form has been outstanding. In his opening two games, he smashed centuries in both and quite honestly, you’ll struggle to find a more capable and reliable batsman who appreciates his wicket as Khawaja does.
If you need further convincing, the Thunder play twice in Round 1 making Khawaja not only a great starting option but a captain (or loophole) prospect, too.

The Hurricanes have a habit of producing dominant SuperCoach BBL prospects and import David Miller could be set to be the ‘Cane to continue that trend.

The South African slugger has a ridiculous strike rate of 138.8 in World T20 and has played across the globe including England, India, Jamaica and even Canada. Miller will undoubtedly start somewhere at the top of the order and any bowler in the competition should be worried; this guy averages 34.8 from 294 career T20 games and has been playing in South Africa’s Mzansi League with big results.

However, the concern will be where Miller starts. There will be a battle as to who pairs with D’Arcy Short with Ben McDermott and Caleb Jewell jostling for that opening position already so if you’re to pick Miller, he very well may start at first, potentially second drop which could impact his ceiling.

In his recent stint in the IPL, Miller did his SuperCoach BBL credentials no harm. From 10 matches he had a strike rate of 129.8, averaging 26.6 runs a game from 10 innings for a total of 213 runs.

WHY NOT BOTH?

Admittedly, it’d be hard to slot both sloggers in when you also consider the likes of Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn are cheaper and will bat at the top of the order for the Renegades and Heat respectively.

If you had to choose one, the case to start Khawaja is undoubtedly stronger given the Thunder open their account with a DGW (double game week) and Khawaja’s form is stronger over a longer period of time.

But if you’re looking for a serious point of difference, Miller would be the way to go, despite Hobart not having a DGW until Round 12.

Originally published as Who would you back out of Usman Khawaja and David Miller in SuperCoach BBL?