Jofra Archer. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Mumbai Indians would be desperate to lift the coveted trophy for the sixth time at the Indian Premier League 2023 when they begin their campaign. Since Jasprit Bumrah could not recover from his injury on time, he will be missing the entire IPL 2023 season, which would prove to be a major setback for the Rohit Sharma-led side.
After a forgettable outing last season, Mumbai Indians picked up some great players and bolstered their IPL 2023 squad at the auction, in December 2022. During the mega auction of IPL 2022, Mumbai had roped in England pacer Jofra Archer for a whopping INR 8 crore, even after knowing that he would be out that season due to injury concerns.
But that move will pay the Mumbai Indians franchise well this time around, as Archer is set to join the squad and be available for the entire duration of IPL 2023. Just like many others, former India cricketer and a legend of the game- Sunil Gavaskar – believes that Archer’s addition in the squad will strengthen Mumbai’s chances this season and the pacer would be the team’s ‘trump card’.
“Jofra Archer is a trump card for sure. Ishan Kishan after his ODI double hundred will be somebody to watch out as well. And I think Rohit Sharma will do something really special this season,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Mumbai’s weakness could really be the spin combination: Gavaskar
After missing out on international cricket for a prolonged period of time, Archer marked his return to white-ball cricket in January 2023, when England toured South Africa for a three-match ODI series. After conceding 81 runs and picking up just one wicket in the first ODI, Archer bounced back stronger in the second game and registered his best bowling figures of 6/40, thereby finishing as the highest wicket-taker of the series. Speaking of his wicket-taking abilities, Gavaskar further added:
“I think their strength will be the presence of Jofra Archer. He can pick wickets upfront and also bowl a couple of overs in the end, block the runs and pick up wickets as well. I think it (weakness) could really be the spin combination. They’ve got a lovely new-ball attack but the spin combination just looks a little bit light.”
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