Tymal Mills: All you need to know about RCB's latest high profile signing

After coming in with a bit of buzz around him, Tymal Mills struck gold in the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction. The England fast bowler was picked by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for a mammoth INR 12 Crores.

From a base price of INR 50 Lakhs, the 24-year old found himself at the epicentre of a fierce bidding war between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. When it seemed like the Wankhede Stadium would await him, RCB entered the equation from nowhere and acquired him for 24 times his original base price.

Let us track the left-arm pacer’s journey from England’s domestic circuit to the riches of IPL.

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#5 Early years and Test ambitions

Mills made his first-class debut for Essex in 2011

Born in Yorkshire, Tymal Solomon Mills only began to show serious interest in cricket when he was around 14-16 years of age. At 19, he broke into the Essex team and subsequently decided to forego a journalism course at the prestigious University of East London.

A product of the U-19 scene, he made his first-class debut in a tour match against the visiting Sri Lankans in June 2011. In the winter, Mills was fast-tracked into the England Performance Programme (EPP) and underwent training at the ECB National Cricket Academy in Loughborough among other places.

Despite not setting the County Championship for fire, his bustling pace earned him a spot in the England Lions Squad.

#4 Move to Sussex and back Injury

A congenital back condition forced Mills to give up on red-ball cricket

After watching a moustachioed Mitchell Johnson rip their team apart in the 2013/14 Ashes, there were calls in and around the England set-up to draft Mills into the Test squad. However, the selectors resisted the temptation and preferred to let him evolve as a bowler in the domestic circuit.

Ahead of the 2015 County season, Mills switched to Sussex and got to play in the First Division of the Championship. However, he was able to play just a couple of games due to a severe back injury. Further medical tests revealed that he had been suffering from a congenital back condition.

As a consequence, the seamer decided to give up his red-ball aspirations and focus solely on the shorter formats.

#3 Making a name as a T20 specialist

Mills’ extra pace has made him a hot commodity in T20 leagues across the globe

Amidst his fitness issues, Mills continued to impress in the shortest format. Capable of clocking serious miles, he troubled batsmen with his sharp spells and picked up 19 wickets from 12 matches at an average of 18.94 including a four-wicket haul in the 2015 Natwest T20 Blast.

With England’s hierarchy slowly opening up to the possibility of their players gaining exposure from overseas T20 leagues, Mills began to turn out for a variety of competitions ranging from New Zealand’s Super Smash (with Auckland Aces) to the popular Big Bash League (with Brisbane Heat).

#2 Entering the international arena

Mills showed glimpses of his potential on T20I debut against Sri Lanka

Mills finally received an England call-up for the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl in 2016. Much to the crowd’s delight, skipper Eoin Morgan publicly announced the perks of having an out and out fast bowler in his ranks.

Sharing the new ball with Chris Jordan, Mills began his international career with a delivery clocked at 92.5 miles per hour. Operating predominantly from a back of length, he kept things quiet with a tight line. As the death overs loomed, Morgan entrusted him with the task of ending the innings on a high.

The left-armer befuddled the batsmen by mixing his slower balls with full-on yorkers. From 4 overs, he conceded just 22 runs without striking.

#1 Welcome to India

Mills adapted to Indian pitches without too much fuss

For fears of his body not meeting the rigours of longer spells, Mills was not considered for the 50-overs format. He continued his T20I journey during the 3-match series against India in India early this year.

On pitches requiring judicious use of cutters and variations of pace, Mills reiterated his ability to adapt as evidenced by his figures of 1/27 in Kanpur, 1/36 in Nagpur and 1/31 in Bengaluru (with the wicket of Yuvraj Singh). The M Chinnaswamy Stadium is all set to be his adopted home from April to May.

Amidst a batting-friendly surface and short boundaries, his skill set could be quite useful for RCB who won’t have the services of Mitchell Starc.