The England selectors surprised one and all when they named pace sensation Tymal Mills in the T20I squad for the game against Sri Lanka. Mills has been a limited overs specialist in the English domestic circuit and has already made headlines with his fiery pace bowling. The left-arm pacer was the centre of attraction not too long ago when he dismantled the stumps of T20 legend Chris Gayle with a 93 mph delivery.
Ahead of the limited overs leg against Sri Lanka, England skipper Eoin Morgan backed the pacer to excel for the T20I fixture between the two sides. Morgan branded Mills as an “exciting” package and commented that not many around bowled as quick as Mills.
“It’s really exciting,” Morgan said about Mills. “We have a left-arm option who is quite steady but to have a genuine quick. I don’t think we’ve somebody who bowls as quick as Tymal in quite a long time. I think he’s been bowling at 93, 94mph. I think Steven Finn bowled that three or four years ago but has not managed it since. It’s not something that comes easy. Certainly if we can ease Tymal into the squad when it comes to a big match I see no problems going to him. I think now is the time to get him involved.”
Morgan added that Mills was also preparing himself for the 50 overs challenge. “At the moment, yes,” Morgan said. “He’s building up towards 50 overs if possible, but I think that’s a long way away at the moment. He’s come a long way since last year. He thought his career might be over. It’s really exciting to see him back. With the balance of the side we have, if Ben Stokes is fit, we can have the luxury of gambling with somebody like that.”