Taken from Episode #13 – ‘TYMAL MILLS – Near Retirement to Million Dollar Man’
Tymal reflecting on the night before the 2017 IPL Draft – by 8am the next day, he’d been purchased for US$1.8 million.
About the Episode:
The incredibly technical nature of cricket means that many of the games current professionals had to have been born “with a bat in hand”. For Tymal Mills, the case could not have been more different. At 13, as someone who was largely unaware of the sport, Tymal was asked to fill in for a friend in a local after-school club game. A clear natural to the sport, within five years of first playing Tymal already had a contract at Essex CCC.
At aged 22, Tymal experienced his first injury shock when, during a spell for Essex CCC, he began feeling odd sensations in his legs and lower back. After numerous consultations, and fears that the shocks could have been early signs of Multiple Sclerosis, Tymal faced the decision of whether or not to retire from cricket. Although the severity of the injury meant he had medical grounds to retire, Tymal made the decision to continue his career, but to focus solely on T20 cricket.
At the time, due to the realisation that he would no longer be able to play Test Cricket for England, this felt like a setback. However, no one could have predicted what was to come.
Looking back, as Tymal claims, the injury was “the best thing to have happened”; the subsequent focus on T20 cricket allowed Tymal to become one of the games most famous players and he is now the true epitome of a modern, franchise cricketer.
Shortly after making his England Debut, Tymal was bought for £1.3m in the 2017 IPL Auction, having been selected to feature in a team alongside Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers. These are opportunities that may not have been available had he focussed on four-day cricket, and it is testament to the fact, in sport, often minor setbacks are part of a much greater end goal.
Tymal is now using his story to help inspire the next generation of fast bowlers and his book, called ‘the Book of Pace’, can be purchased online @pacejournal or on their website. Tymal’s story is one of raw natural talent, combined with immense resilience, and we hope you enjoy it.
ABOUT:
Modern sport isn’t just about what you see on the pitch.
On GIVING THE GAME AWAY we’ll discuss areas of sport that aren’t often talked about; whether that’s psychology, culture, lifestyle or other unspoken parts of a sportsperson’s life.
We aim to humanise sportspeople by discussing their off-the-pitch interests, highlighting the more traditional aspects of their lives, such as dealing with rejection and recovering from injuries, to the more modern struggles like handling social media, or the importance of speaking out on mental health.
FULL EPISODE CAN BE LISTENED TO AT:
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2hKF…
APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast…
More of our interviews or our content we can be found on Insta @givingthegameaway
Joel – @joelraphaelbarber / joel@gtga.co.uk
Cam – @Cjyscott
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