Follow UsIt’s highly unlikely that Jofra Archer will feature in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League but Mumbai Indians still got him in the mega auction for INR 8 crore (USD1.04 million).
The Barbados-born England paceman, who is still recovering from a long-term elbow injury, said he doesn’t want the people to judge him on the basis of the price in the auction but for the player that he is.
"I want people to know that if you don't play you don't get paid. I want people to see me as a player and not as a price like that behind me. You only got that money because other teams wanted you," said Archer.
Apart from Mumbai, the 26-year-old also attracted bids from Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. "I had to go on the IPL website to see the video of it. I was training. Then my phone started to go up, back to back messages. I think SRH and MI team went for me. When I saw my phone, I knew exactly what happened.
"I really got excited. MI is a great franchise. Mahela (Jayawardene, the MI coach) was my first franchise coach as well. Polly (Kieron Pollard) as well, played a few games against him. This is the first time ever I will be playing in the same team with him. Really excited to get started."
Talking about the franchise, Archer said: “It looks very close knit. Akash (Ambani, the owner of the franchise) called and we spoke about Arsenal - I don't know why he likes Arsenal. It is a very close knit team."
Archer said the franchise-based T20 league gives him the platform to improve his batting. “It is (IPL) an opportunity to bat. You may not necessarily get the opportunity to bat at your club or country. You may not get a lot in the game, but you always have enough time to bat in the nets. No one chases you at the nets. You can always come back and bat again. To me, that helps my batting.”
The perception of fast bowlers has always been that they are an angry bunch, who need to stoke that fire to generate fearsome pace. However, Archer said it's about staying calm. "I think you need to be calm as a fast bowler because you have to know when to step it up and when to tone it down. Being calm allows me to just make better decisions. Bowling also doesn't really change much according to conditions, you just have to know when and where to use your variations."
Mumbai will be the second team Archer will play for in the IPL after Rajasthan Royals, where he was part of the team for three seasons. He was released by the Royals after he missed the 2021 season due to his recurring elbow injury. The speedster feels the change will be a great opportunity to see where he stands.
"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," he 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."
(With inputs from PTI)