After four years of success in Rajasthan Royals (RR), England's star speedster Jofra Archer now has a different franchise to represent i.e Mumbai Indians (MI), who roped him in for a whopping Rs 8 crore in the IPL mega auction 2022. Leaving RR must be tough for the quick as he compared his situation with football star Cristiano Ronaldo who had to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2009.
Rohit Sharma-led MI will be the second team for Archer after RR, where he was part of the team for three seasons. The 26-year-old was released by the Royals after he missed the 2021 season due to his recurring elbow injury.
However, Archer feels that change of environment playing for a different franchise will be good to challenge himself.
“The change of environment is good because you then get to challenge yourself. It is all right to perform in your comfort zone but when you actually go away and start performing in a different team, in a different setting, only then can you probably start rating yourself,” Archer said.
“It is like when Cristiano Ronaldo first left England, people said he may not be good outside but then he has performed and done it wherever he has gone. No one can ever question his skill now, it is pretty much the same concept,” he further added.
Archer has so far played 35 IPL matches in which he has scalped 46 wickets at an average of 21.32 with 3/15 as his best figure.
Speaking of Mumbai Indians, the Barbados-born pacer hailed the franchise as a 'close-knit family' that has been used to winning titles in the league. With familiar faces like Mahela Jayawardene and Kieron Pollard in the team, Archer doesn't feel the transition from RR to MI will be a big one for him.
“I am really excited to get started with MI - it is a great franchise. Mahela Jayawardene was one of my first coaches, we have the likes of Polly - I have played a few games against him, this is probably the first time I will play with him. I am hoping to start winning games and trophies soon,” Jofra stated.
Owing to his injury, Archer will not feature in the IPL 2022 which is set to kick off from March 26 but will be seen in the MI jersey next year. However, MI will take on Delhi Capitals in their IPL opener on March 27.
Mumbai Indians' picks in IPL mega auction 2022:
Ishan Kishan – Rs 15.25 Crore
Dewald Brevis – Rs 3 Crore
Basil Thampi – Rs 30 Lakh
Murugan Ashwin – Rs 1.60 Crore
Jaydev Unadkat- Rs 1.30 crore
Tymal Mills- Rs 1.5 crore
Mayank Markande- Rs 65 lakh
Tilak Varma- Rs 1.70 crore
Sanjay Yadav- Rs 50 lakh
Jofra Archer- Rs 8 crore
Daniel Sams- Rs 2.60 crore
Tim David- Rs 8.25 crore
Riley Meredith- Rs 1 crore
Anmolpreet Singh- Rs 20 lakh
Ramandeep Singh- Rs 20 lakh
Rahul Buddhi- Rs 20 lakh
Hrithik Shokeen- Rs 20 lakh
Arjun Tendulkar- Rs 30 lakh
Arshad Khan- Rs 20 lakh
Aryan Juyal- Rs 20 lakh
Fabian Allen- Rs 75 lakh
Mumbai Indians' full squad: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Dewald Brevis, Murugan Ashwin, Basil Thampi, Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Daniel Sams, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen.
