IPL 10: Pietersen believes Tymal Mills will have more pressure than Ben Stokes

One of the most sought after T20 players from England who has been a part of all major leagues in the world, Kevin Pietersen, claimed that Mills will be under more pressure in comparison to the English all-rounder Ben Stokes. Both Englishmen gained headlines after the IPL Auction this February.

T20 specialist Tymal Mills was sold off to Royal Challengers of Bangalore for a whopping sum of USD 1.9 million while Stokes was bagged by the Rising Pune SuperGiants for an unbelievable USD 2.16 million. Pietersen went on to comment that the pressure of the price tags has its own demerits.

During an interview with the PTI, the right-hander commented,”In terms of performances, there will be a lot of pressure on Mills. He is getting a lot of money now but mind it this amount of money doesn’t survive a ‘large time’. It’s wonderful to get an unbelievable amount but he doesn’t have an international career per se to fall back on. He doesn’t have an ECB central contract like Ben Stokes has”

He further justified that it is due to the fact that Mills plays only T20s whereas Stokes plays all the three format and acquires a central contract from the ECB.”Mills is neither playing Test cricket nor playing ODIs. He is just playing T20 cricket and that’s just a couple of games. So there is a lot more pressure on a guy like Tymal Mills than on a guy like Ben Stokes”, he added.

Pietersen also gave a personal insight while professing his own belief. “I had the same problem. I got USD 1.5 million (from RCB). It is something more that the people talk about rather than what the players talk. It’s also got to do with how players think about their game”, said the Hampshire man.

While focussing on the wealth of talent the left arm seamer possesses, the right-hand batsman went on to state,”These (money) are part of perks of having played some very good cricket. He is being rewarded for his fantastic performances in his little career so far. In terms of longevity, it’s just a patch of his career, which he needs to enjoy a lot. He never demanded the money, he has been given the money”

Pietersen also suggested that Stokes will flourish under the captaincy of Smith and mentorship of Fleming. “Soon as you start thinking about money and off-field matters, then you fail. I think Stokes will do very well, he has got a brilliant coach in Stephen Fleming and I think he will be guided well by Steve Smith,” he added.

He shared his wealth of experience by propagating about the uncertainties of this form of cricket, “In T20 cricket, and I have played a lot of it, it doesn’t matter how your team looks on paper. It matters how you perform on a particular day. Anybody can win any game on a particular day, such is the format. Although Virat scored all those runs (in last edition), Bangalore didn’t win the title” he further added.