England’s Barbados-born pacer Jofra Archer said that he is excited to be joining the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise, who bought him for INR 8 crores in the IPL 2022 mega auction. However, he will not be playing in the IPL 2022 as he continues his comeback from the elbow surgeries and slowly makes his way to playing cricket.
Archer made his name in England domestic cricket and was fast-tracked into the England side for the ICC World Cup 2019. He played a huge part in the hosts winning their first 50-over World Cup trophy and then in his Ashes debut the same year, rocked the Australian batters, especially Steve Smith, who had to miss one and a half games after being hit on the head with a fiery bouncer.
In an interview with the Mumbai Indians, Jofra talked about his excitement of playing with Kieron Pollard and catching up with Mahela Jayawardena.
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“I am really excited to get started with MI - it is a great franchise. Mahela Jayawardena 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,” he said.
Archer further added that it is the family-like atmosphere in the MI camp that has helped them win five IPL titles including two back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020.
“MI looks very close-knit and family-oriented and such teams always do well. That’s why it is no surprise that we have won five titles. Polly’s been there 10 years, Malinga was there a long time, the same with Rohit too. These things make you feel safe when you come into the team as a new player,” he said.
MI will be the second team Jofra will play for in the IPL after Rajasthan Royals, where he played for three seasons. 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,” Jofra added.
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The Rajasthan Royals connection brought him a little closer to the late great Shane Warne, who was the Royals’ first captain and a mentor later.
“The news shook everyone up because we have all grown up watching him bowl. You did not even have to meet him to feel saddened by his passing, so imagine the people who were actually lucky enough to share the same space as him. He is definitely going to be a huge loss for the cricket world,” said Jofra.
Talking about his heroes in cricket growing up in Barbados, Jofra said: “I happened to go to the same school as Joel Garner in Barbados and he used to turn up quite a lot. The kids used to watch him and Michael Holding, that’s why maybe a lot of them had afros back then. Honestly, though, there were just so many great West Indian cricketers to choose from for inspiration that no one in particular sticks out for me. And I was a kid who did not watch a lot of cricket, I always preferred playing it.”
(Mumbai Indians inputs)
