Mumbai Indians (MI) buying injured Jofra Archer for a whopping sum of INR 8 Crore surprised a lot of people, but owner Akash Ambani felt that the England pacer would bowl in tandem with Jasprit Bumrah as potent pair after regaining fitness.
Archer, who won’t participate in the 2022 edition of IPL, was roped in by the five-time champions on the second day of the mega auction in Bangalore.
See Also - IPL 2022 Auction: Full Squads of all 10 franchises
"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 in the list.
"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 said during a virtual press conference.
MI also signed Tim David for a staggering INR 8.25 Crore and Akash termed him as one of the best finishers in the world.
"Tim is a player we have been tracking for last two or three years, you know, he was playing the associate nations and last year he got a good half a year experience with RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore), which was crucial for him to know what all goes on in the IPL and what level one does need to perform," he said.
"We always believed in his skills, he is one of the best finishers in the world and as soon as we knew Hardik (Pandya) was not in our team sheet, we knew that slot had to go to a foreigner, because there is no one in India than Hardik," he added.
Mumbai Indians broke the bank to fetch the most expensive player of this year's auction in Ishan Kishan.
"It feels good to have the most expensive buy of the auction. This is the first time we've done that," Akash Ambani said.
"Ishan will definitely open the batting for us in the upcoming season," he further said.
(With PTI inputs)