England’s T20I specialist Tymal Mills, who raised a few eyebrows during the auctions last season of the IPL with a massive contract of INR 12 crores and went unsold this season, is all set to represent the Karachi Kings during the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Mills comes in as the replacement for former Australian pace bowler Mitchell Johnson who pulled out of the league earlier before Kolkata Knight Riders bagged his services in the recently undergone mega-auction.
The ferocious left-arm fast bowler, renowned for causing wreckage amongst the batsmen with his bouncers, was bought at his base price of INR 2 crores and would be bowling alongside his compatriot Mitchell Starc in the tournament.
Mitchell Johnson represented the Perth Scorchers this season and impressed with his low economy rate even though he wasn’t among the wickets. The Sussex pacer, after attaining a lucrative 12 Crore deal from the Royal Challengers Bangalore, went unsold after his announced performance and fitness issues last season. In the five matches he played in the 2017 edition of the cash-rich league, Mills could only manage five wickets at an economy of 8.57.
Mills acquired a reputation for being a skillful bowler at the death with an array of slower deliveries and the ability to touch the 150 kmph mark during England’s tour of India back in January 2017.
The other replacement from the Karachi Kings’ camp is for Sussex batsman Luke Wright who pulled out of the tournament after suffering from niggles for a while now. Karachi Kings named former England international Joe Denly, as Wright’s replacement for the upcoming edition of Pakistan’s premier T20 league.
The third edition league is scheduled to take place in between 22 February to 25 March this year. The knock-out phase of the tournament would be hosted in the Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan’s bid for the revival of international cricket at home.
Wright took to social media to make the announcement for his unavailability.
“For those asking, sadly I’ve had to pull out the PSL this year. I’ve been carrying niggles all winter, and they aren’t getting better so, to be fair to both Karachi Kings and Sussex, I respectfully have to miss it. Great tournament. Hope to play in it next year,” tweeted Luke Wright.
Here’s the Tweet:
For those asking sadly I've had to pull out the @thePSLt20 this year. I've been carrying niggles all winter and they aren't getting better so to being fair to both @KarachiKingsARY & @SussexCCC I respectfully have to miss it. Great tournament. Hope to play in it next year.
— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) January 29, 2018
Besides injury concerns, Luke Wright has been struggling with his batting form in the recently concluded Big Bash League and Bangladesh Premier League where he represented the Melbourne Stars and Rajshahi Kings respectively. Wright was only able to play five games in the tournament where the Stars ended on the bottom of the table.