In IPL 2022 mega auction Mumbai Indians (MI) gave everyone a huge surprise by going big guns in the bidding war for the England fast bowler Jofra Archer. The fact is Archer has already made it clear that he will not play in IPL 2022. Despite this, Mumbai Indians went for Archer during the IPL auction and raised everyone’s eyebrows by buying him for eight crores
Earlier Archer had not given his name for the mega auction, but later on he applied for the IPL auction and huge bids were placed to acquire his services.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani explained the reason behind the same. He said that Archer along with Bumrah will make a ” formidable partnership”. There is no doubt that Mumbai Indians think tank does believe in investing heavily in their fast bowling attack. The combination of Bumrah and Malinga had wreaked havoc over the years and was one of the biggest factors to win the most number of IPL titles. It was a no-brainer that they were looking for a replacement for Malinga and Archer does bring a lot of pace and skills to their bowling Armory..
IPL 2022: Akash Ambani reveals the story behind Mumbai Indians spending Rs 8 crores for Jofra Archer
Akash Ambani has said that the team’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene had an idea behind buying this England player. “Jofra is one such player who was given his first professional debut by Mahela (head coach Jayawardene). It was his idea that we went for. So we are happy to have them. Although it is going to happen next year, we are very happy to have the combination. We discussed his name in the meeting before the auction, but after fixing the price against all other fast bowlers last night, we stick to our plan.
“So, we had discussed his name previously also and of course, he (Archer) is not available this year but when he is fit and available, I believe that with (Jasprit Bumrah) he will make a formidable partnership,” Akash Ambani was quoted as saying in a virtual press conference by India Today.
“We took all those into consideration. After yesterday, what the fast bowlers went at, one option became very dear to us that Jofra was the only marquee fast bowler left on the list,” he added.
Even the MI bowling coach Zaheer Khan is excited about the prospects of having two legendary fast bowlers to bowl together
“You are eagerly waiting for the partnership to go on the field and so am I. To see two legendary fast bowlers bowling in tandem and I’m glad that it seems possible and will be worth the wait,” said Zaheer Khan to ANI.
Read more : IPL 2022 Mega Auction: Final squad list of all the IPL teams after the auction ends
