DUBAI: All eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli when India take on England in the limited-overs series at home, as both the star batters aim to regain form and get into rhythm ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy next month.
India will play five T20Is and three ODIs against England.
England left-arm pacer Tymal Mills, currently playing in the ILT20 Season 3 for Gulf Giants in the UAE, believes that Rohit and Virat will soon find their form with the bat. Mills, who has played alongside both the players at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was part of the RCB squad in 2017 before joining MI in 2022.
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In an interview with TimesofIndia.com, Mills shared his thoughts on the upcoming India vs England series, Virat and Rohit’s form, Bumrah and more.
India are coming off a 1-3 series defeat in Australia and now face England in the limited-overs series at home. Do you think they will be under a lot of pressure?
There’s always pressure in Indian cricket, as you know. The media gives them high praise and also high scorn, so I’m sure it’ll be a great series. A full white-ball tour of India is always a great experience. I’ve been lucky enough to tour there and play international cricket against India in their home conditions, so it’s obviously a very daunting task.
They’re obviously very strong. Their talent pool is very deep and experienced, but the England team will go there confident. They’ve got a lot of young players, a lot of players who are keen to express themselves ahead of the Champions Trophy. So I’m sure there’ll be a lot of eyes on the series. I’ll be keeping an eye on it for sure.
What’s your prediction for the series?
England will win both the series — ODIs and T20Is.
Do you think England will miss Ben Stokes?
Yeah, of course. Stokes had another bad hamstring injury, which is a shame. He’s obviously one of the best players in the world. Anytime you lose a player like that to injury, it hurts your side. England have a lot of depth and quality, particularly in white-ball cricket. I’m sure guys will be confident in replacing him.
The England series will be an important platform for out-of-form Rohit and Virat to rediscover their touch ahead of the Champions Trophy. What’s your take on this?
You don’t get the reputation for scoring the amount of runs these guys (Virat and Rohit) have scored in their careers just by luck. It’s because they’re two of the best players to have ever played (the sport). They’ll be able to ride the highs and the lows better than anybody else, and they’ll obviously have a lot of self-belief in their abilities.
They’ve gone through tough times before and come out the other side, and they’ll know what they need to do to come out on the other side (once again). Hopefully, not too much against England, but you won’t be surprised to see them both scoring runs again.
You’ve spent considerable time with Bumrah at Mumbai Indians. How crucial a role do you think he will play for India in the Champions Trophy, should he be fit to play?
Jasprit is definitely the best bowler in the world across all three formats. He’s a special bowler in Test cricket, 50-over cricket and T20s. A lovely guy as well. I really enjoyed my time at Mumbai, spending time with him and speaking to him both on and off the field. Any team that has him is very lucky. He’s an excellent bowler in all phases of the game.
He’s obviously a prized asset, and you have to look after him. If you need to give him rest sporadically to keep him at his best for long periods, then I’m sure they’ll do that. He’s obviously a fantastic bowler.
Is there any upcoming Indian bowler who has particularly impressed you?
It’s difficult. Obviously, the fast bowler who burst onto the scene in the IPL — Mayank Yadav. Anytime you find a fast bowler like that, it’s exciting. I like Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm seamer. I know he’s not new or up-and-coming, but he’s got great skills and swings the ball both ways. There are lots of fast bowlers in India now who are coming up, improving themselves and getting opportunities in the IPL.
