The risk and experiment from the Mumbai Indians regarding Jofra Archer came to an end after the 5-time champions released him from their squad last weekend ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
MI had bought Jofra Archer for INR 8 crore in the IPL 2022 mega-auction, despite knowing that he would not play that season as he was recovering from his elbow injury. Owner Akash Ambani had then said that Archer was a future investment for them, given how deadly he could be at his best.
Archer did start in the IPL 2023 this year, but had a poor time. He picked only 2 wickets in 5 matches and left mid-season as his injury resurfaced, and has not played any high-level game so far.
Jofra Archer is likely to be up for grabs in the IPL 2024 auction on December 19. There are still five more months to go for the IPL 2024 to start. So it can be expected that Archer would get fit by that time, and a few franchises who dearly need quality overseas fast bowlers might go after him and look to get him for a cheap price because most franchises might be apprehensive to buy him given his injury issues in the past couple of years.
Not to forget, Archer was one of the best pacers in the world when he was fit, that is not too long ago in January when he was rattling batsmen in South Africa in SA20 and the ODI series. Archer was the Man of the Tournament in IPL 2020 and took most wickets for England in the 2019 World Cup.
Here are 3 teams that might go after Jofra Archer in IPL 2024 auction:
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR has gone on a massive revamp of their bowling attack after finishing 7th in IPL 2023. Among the players they released are Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Shardul Thakur, Kulwant Khejroliya, and David Wiese.
KKR have plenty of overseas slots to fill. KKR could get Archer for a low price in the IPL 2024 auction. Archer, with his stump to stump line, could be really effective at the Eden Gardens.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
RCB made a few surprise releases, which include some well-known bowlers. RCB’s list of released players includes Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Wayne Parnell, and Siddharth Kaul. That’s plenty of bowling slots to refill for RCB. However, since they have traded in Cameron Green for 17.5 crore, their purse sits at INR 23 crore. RCB can target Archer, who is expected to be bought at the low price.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
MI had already accepted that they didn’t mind including Jofra Archer in their squad even if he wasn’t guaranteed 100 percent fitness. But, it now seems, Archer’s price of INR 8 crore was too much for them, and hence they released him. MI has a price of around INR 17 crore for IPL 2024 auction, and they may not mind getting Archer back for 1 or 2 crore, considering a fit Archer is an asset worth taking such a risk.
