Jofra Archer may have not been able to deliver for Mumbai Indians (MI) in his short stint in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 before returning to England but it seems like the franchise is ready to invest in the tearaway pacer. A report claims that MI are ready to offer a multi-million-pound deal to Archer under which the Caribbean-origin fast bowler will be available to them for whole year.
According to Dailymail's report, if Archer accepts the contract, he will need permission from the Mumbai-based franchise to play international cricket for England. In addition to MI in IPL, Archer is also a part of MI Cape Town's squad in SA20 league.
Apart from IPL and SA20 league, MI own franchises in UAE's ILT20 and the New York franchise in Major League Cricket.
In six games for MI Cape Town, he picked up 10 wickets at an average of 17.89 and an economy rate of 7.78 runs per over.
MI had invested in Archer in IPL 2022 mega auction where he was picked for Rs 8 crore after a tussle with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
He did not play in IPL 2022 as he was still recovering from the injury. In IPL 2023, he played five matches and managed to take just two wickets at an average of 95. He was expensive too leaking 9.50 runs per over. Archer injured his elbow midway through the season. There were reports of him getting a surgery in Belgium which he denied. However, later, MI head coach Mark Boucher confirmed that he went to Belgium for few days.
Currently, Archer is back in England to feature in the Ashes 2023 which will start on June 16. Before that, he is likely to play in the one-off Test against Ireland starting June 1. Archer was impressive in his debut Ashes series where he troubled Steve Smith who was in phenomenal form in 2019.
The report also claimed that a similar deal was offered to Alex Hales as well. Hales had pulled out of last IPL season after being signed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
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