Tymal Mills has seen the highs, lows and everything in between during a career that’s currently in its 15th year. He has been the quintessential T20 globe-trotter, playing for teams in IPL, ILT20, the Hundred, PSL, T20 Blast, BBL, APL and BPL. The package he brings of left-arm pace, searing yorkers, clever variations and an ability to deliver consistently at the death have made him an attractive signing for franchises across conditions and continents. Currently playing for Gulf Giants in the ILT20, Mills spoke to TimesofIndia.com about life as a T20 freelancer, his IPL experiences, learning the yorker from Jasprit Bumrah and much else. Excerpts:
You’ve been a globe-trotter of sorts, across teams all over the world. Does that make it easier, or more difficult, to play for a new team?
I think it’s certainly easier now than it was when I first started. You get used to hitting the ground running, and knowing the best way to make friendships early. I’m lucky that I’m at the stage where I’ve played with a lot of different teams so there’s always a familiar face. Whether it be backroom staff, logistical staff, and of course the players themselves. So when you join a new team, it’s often not a ‘new’ team. You’ll have at least four-five guys that you know well. That’s been no different here with Gulf Giants. I already know a few of the coaching staff and a lot of the players. And it’s cool when you get to meet the local players and guys from different countries that you haven’t played with before.
You’ve dealt with the ruthlessness of franchise cricket and with injuries. You experienced both in your two IPL stints. How do you look back at those?
I was lucky enough to get a very good contract when I was young, with RCB. Which obviously changed my life! But ultimately, I didn’t capitalise on that. I played a few games, and then I got an injury and I wasn’t quite able to come back.
I feel getting bought for that much money hurt my reputation a little bit, because I didn’t perform to those standards. As a result, I didn’t get picked up again for a few years. I also struggled with some injuries.
I was lucky enough to get that chance with Mumbai Indians a couple of years ago. Again, I didn’t perform very well. I’m certainly disappointed that I didn’t perform as well as I know I could have, in the two opportunities that I had with the IPL. But I’m also pretty stoic and understand that’s how it goes. I’d love to go back, but I also understand that if that ship has sailed, so be it.
What was it like at RCB in 2017?
I was only 23-24 and very new to franchise cricket. I was very naïve, which was probably a good thing. Being in India for the IPL on the back of a large contract, I was very lucky that Dan Vettori (head coach) and Trent Woodhill (assistant coach) put no pressure on me. The only real pressure was if I looked on Twitter, which I tried not to! (laughs) At the time, I was really well supported.
I guess just the knock-on effect hurt me. I was lucky enough to be bought for so much money, but there was an expectation (with that). I didn’t meet that expectation, whereas if I would have had the same results but I was only bought for 3 or 4 crore, then the perception would have been a bit different because the expectations would have been different. So you maybe don’t get labelled as a bust or a flop or a terrible buy – because of the price tag. The performances weren’t that bad, but it’s just that I got injured and I wasn’t able to have the effect that I or the team wanted. If I had that time again, I would have loved to have done better. And you never know, you could still be playing for that franchise now! There was the potential to have that long-lasting relationship.
Even now, every year when the IPL auction happens, I’m getting tagged and tweeted and mentioned as one of the worst buys ever. That’s fine, I’ve got thick enough skin and I’ve been around long enough, so I understand how it goes. It’s peculiar, but I don’t let it affect me. I don’t sit here with regrets. If you’re constantly looking back wishing things were different, you’re going to spend a lot of time in your own head.
How was it sharing a dressing room with Jasprit Bumrah in IPL 2022?
Awesome! It was kind of the last year of Covid, so we were in a bubble, weren’t allowed to leave (the bubble.) The whole tournament was in Mumbai, so it had its challenges. Again, we didn’t perform very well as a team on the pitch, but it was really cool to share a dressing room with Jasprit and Rohit and Surya and Tilak, who’s now done so well. Just kind of seeing how skilled Jasprit is at training, at practice. He can tell you exactly what he’s going to do, and he’ll do it. He’s a very, very highly skilled bowler obviously, but also a cool guy to just hang around with, talk to and chill out with.
Did you learn anything from each other?
I don’t know if he picked up anything from me (laughs)! I spoke to him about yorkers and what his thought process is, what his routine is, what he thinks about and visualises. He said he tries to keep – I know it sounds difficult when you’re running – but to keep his head very still. So when you’re at the point of release in the crease, you feel like your head is up and still and it gives you the best chance to extend through to nail the yorker. That was just a bit of advice I took from him that I’ve tried to implement in my game.
The one thing with bowling yorkers is, you have to commit a hundred percent. Because if you miss, you need to miss at full intensity. You can’t be scared of bowling a yorker because that’s when you just put it there, and then if you miss, it’s going to go for six. It’s the type of ball you have to fully commit to, or you’re getting hit out of the park.
You’ve had your ups and downs with injuries, after having started as a tearaway quick. How has it affected your bowling?
When I was young, I relied on pace. I was lucky I could bowl high pace pretty naturally. But as happens to a lot of cricketers, you go through tough times. I’ve had a few of those. I had a couple of years when I had stress fractures in my mid to late 20s, so I had to tighten a few things up with my bowling action. Touchwood, I’ve been good for the last few years. I’ve played a lot of cricket, I’ve stayed in the park and I haven’t had many injuries. And yes, it may come at the sacrifice of a little bit of pace as you get older, but I want to be in the park. One of the worst things is to be injured and watching when you should be playing. We have a pretty short career and you want to try and play as many games as you can.
