Exclusive: Glasgow Cosmic's Tymal Mills On Playing With Kohli-Rohit, Why Bumrah Is Best, ETPL Experience

Tymal Mills Exclusive Interview CREX. Image Credits: CREX/AFPBefore Jofra Archer, England had Tymal Mills, who wreaked havoc with his left-arm quick bowling. The 34-year-old was touted to become England’s best white-ball bowler, but injuries hampered his career.However, he became a force to reckon with in England’s domestic and franchise leagues, and over the years, the fiery pacer has showcased his skills across T20 leagues worldwide.In an exclusive interview with CREX, Tymal Mills talked about his ongoing journey with the Glasgow Cosmic in the ETPL. He also revealed how he suffered a career-threatening injury in 2015 and who impresses him most as a pacer today.Q1: How has your experience been playing in the ETPL? It was the first season, and the tournament certainly lived up to the hype.Answer 1: Yeah, it's been really good so far. I joined the tournament late. Me and my family have just relocated over to Dubai from the UK, so I wasn't available for the first leg of the tournament.But yeah, I was always coming in to replace Lungi Ngidi for the back end. Yeah, my first time playing cricket over in Ireland, obviously very similar to playing in the UK in lots of aspects, obviously the weather in Chilly now. But yeah, it's been really good so far.Q2: Varun Aaron has been your bowling coach in the Glasgow Cosmic. How was it working with him? Did he give any interesting insights?Answer 2: Yeah, as I said, I've only been here about a week or just under a week. So, but yeah, one of the great things about franchise cricket is that you meet all these different people and coaches and players. And as you say, Varun Aaron's obviously had a great career as a player and then now doing lots of coaching as well. So it's more just a case of making sure we're bowling to the conditions that as always, wherever you are in the world, the conditions dictate your plans and how you want to bowl.Q3: How did you adjust to the tricky conditions in the ETPL? You played two matches, picked up 5 wickets, and you were certainly the best bowler from your team. Did you make any adjustments to your bowling?Answer 3: Yeah, it is different. As I said, the ground here in Malahide is a little bit more like a kind of a club cricket ground as opposed to a full-time ground that we might get in the UK or around the world. So the first game that we played, we bowled first, it had just finished raining, it was windy and there was lots of swing on offer.Also Read: Exclusive: Glasgow Cosmic's Matthew Mott On Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ben Stokes Retirement And England CrisisSo it was just making sure we took advantage of that and pitched the ball up and tried to swing it. And for me to get a wicket early with a ball that swung back in was obviously a nice feeling. And then in the second game, the pitch was conducive to slower balls and was quite different.Q4: Tymal, you are known as one of the most explosive fast bowlers in English cricket and an innovative thinker about the short-form game, but in 2015, your cricketing career was marred by a congenital back condition. How difficult was it to recover from such a serious injury?Answer 4: Yeah, that was obviously a long time ago now, but it's a long story. But pretty much, yeah, I really struggled when I was playing four-day cricket.So playing Championship cricket, whenever I would bowl long spells, I'd struggle with some weakness and some pain in my legs that we found out was stemming from my back. So yeah, unfortunately, I had to retire from four-day cricket because it was only happening then. When I was playing T20 cricket, it was fine, but I think the wear and tear on my back, and we found out some issues in my spine, just meant that my body wasn't responding well to the pressures of bowling high volumes in long-form cricket. So yeah, it was obviously a scary time at the time, but I just quickly pivoted and refocused on trying to become the best T20 player that I could. And yeah, I think we're about 11 years later now, and I'm still going and still playing and still enjoying my cricket. So whilst at the time it was obviously tough, I'm happy with how things have gone since.Q5: I remember in 2013, the English media demanded that you be included in the England Test team to provide the raw pace that was missing from their lineup. Has there been a regret that you have not been able to play any red-ball cricket for England?Answer 5: Not really. Of course, I would have loved to. And yeah, I was obviously there for that Ashes series. They took me as a net bowler to, you know, be around the group and try and help them prepare for, you know, what was to come in the Ashes. And to be around that at that time was amazing. But I wasn't ready to play. If they had played me, not that I was close, but I wouldn't have been ready. I didn't have the experience. I probably didn't have the fitness levels to, you know, play a test match at that time. So, yeah, look, to be close and to be in and around it, you obviously want to play.And to have said I've played test match cricket would have been awesome, but that just wasn't, you know, the hand that I was dealt. And, you know, I had to, not long after, unfortunately stop playing red ball cricket and just focus on white ball cricket. So, look, I don't regret anything. As I said, I'm still sat here now. What now? 13 years later, or however long it's been since that tour. So, I'm still playing, and I'm still travelling, and I'm still loving playing cricket. So, I'll do it for as long as I can. And yeah, certainly no regrets on my side.Q6: Tymal, you have also played in the IPL, and have played with two of the finest in Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. How do they approach a game in the IPL? What are the learnings a budding cricketer can take from them?Answer 6: Yeah, look, firstly, as you say, two of the best players to have ever played the game, particularly in white-ball cricket in India. They obviously have mastered playing in those conditions. So, for me, it was a great experience to learn and to be around those guys.Obviously, I was too very… It came at two very different periods of my career in terms of back in RCB, that was 2017. And then with Mumbai, I believe that was 2022, I think. So, yeah, RCB, I was very young. I was only 24, I think, and quite naive. Hadn't really spent much time in India. But yeah, you know, the magnitude of the tournament, you can tell you're in the big leagues, and every game feels like a huge occasion. And to spend some time with Virat was obviously great. And to see how vigilant and professional he was around his training, and still is now, and still performing at the highest level. Similarly, when I went to Mumbai and Rohit Sharma, those guys, they know what they need to do.Also Read: Exclusive: “Virat Kohli Named Dream Wicket, ETPL A Stepping Stone To IPL”- USA’s Ali Khan Opens Up Like Never BeforeEven through tough times, you stick to your process. You still try to stick true to the things that have served you well over your career. But also whilst making small little tweaks and always looking to get better, because as we know as professional athletes, you can't just stand still. You can't just do the same thing over and over again and expect the same results. So, yeah, a testament to those guys who have had amazing careers over a long period of time and continue to do so.Q7: Currently, there are so many great fast bowlers in the game of cricket; according to you, who is the best pacer of the modern era?Answer 7: Yeah, I think Jasprit Bumrah stands out across formats. Again, I was lucky enough to spend that season with him at Mumbai and to kind of really get up close and see how he goes about it. And yeah, he's got such a high skill level; he can obviously bowl as quick as anybody on his day as well. And then I guess the great thing is that he can do it across formats, whether it be in Test match cricket, ODI cricket, or in T20s. So for me, Bumrah is probably the best in the world. But I love watching guys like Mitchell Starc as well, as a fellow left-armer. Watching him in that last Ashes series against England, bowling consistently over 140, 145, deep into day four and day five, just shows what a great professional and what a great athlete he is.Q8: You are still bowling as fast as I saw you bowling five years ago. Any plans to come back to the IPL as a player?Answer 8: Yeah, I'd love to. I want to play the best cricket that I can for as long as I can. As I said, my pace has still been good this year. I think I bowled in SA20 this year, playing for Pretoria Capitals, and I felt really good then. I'm not looking too far ahead. I just want to stay fit. I just want to play as much high-level cricket as I can. And if that brings me back to the IPL, then amazing. If not, also, there's so much cricket now. There are so many leagues around the world, so many opportunities available. I just want to play as much as I can. So, yeah, I'd love to come back to India. It's obviously an amazing place to play cricket. But we'll just have to see what the future holds.Q9: So many bowlers have delivered in the ETPL, but is there one particular bowler who has impressed you the most? Could be from your team, or from the opposition.Answer 9: Yeah, the bowling has been high class, and the weather and the wickets, I think, have helped the bowling. And yeah, you're right. There haven't been too many huge scores, which has been nice. Often now in T20 cricket, we just see 220, 230 all the time. So this tournament has been one more so for the bowlers. Mitchell Santner, obviously, is a spin bowler. He's an excellent bowler and has taken advantage of the conditions out here. We played against Amrit Nortje the other day for Rotterdam, and he was bowling very, very fast and making it very uncomfortable. And I believe he's the leading wicket-taker in the competition. So yeah, the Rotterdam team has got a stacked bowling lineup, and Nortje is leading the way there. Sure.Also Read: Varun Chakaravarthy Injury Timeline