When Mumbai Indians spent a significant amount of their funds (INR 8 crore) on Jofra Archer during the IPL mega auction in 2022, their main goal was to create a formidable pace duo with Jasprit Bumrah. Archer’s exceptional economy rate of 7.20 overall and 9.03 in the death overs during his three seasons with the Rajasthan Royals made him a valuable addition to MI’s team after RR decided not to retain him.
Despite the potential of Archer and Bumrah to intimidate any batting lineup, especially in the death overs, Archer was unable to play in the 2022 IPL season due to an elbow injury. In 2023, he has only played two matches, taking just one wicket and conceding 75 runs in eight overs, which is not up to his usual standards.
Looking back at the decision to acquire Archer and its impact on the Mumbai Indians, it can be argued that he is one of the worst purchases for the franchise in recent times.
In this article, we will examine three reasons why this move did not live up to expectations.
3 Reasons why Archer has been one of MI’s worst signings
3) Overambition resulted in Overspending
Before going after Jofra Archer, Mumbai Indians had already spent INR 23.50 crore on Ishan Kishan and Tim David. This left them with limited funds to build a complete bowling attack, but their desire to have the Archer-Bumrah duo compelled them to invest more in the English player, even though he wouldn’t be available for the 2022 IPL season.
Mumbai Indians have a reputation for discovering talented players, but their recent trend of spending heavily on big-name superstars has contributed to the franchise’s struggles in recent times.
2) Buying Archer imbalanced the team
By prioritizing the acquisition of Jofra Archer, the Mumbai Indians overlooked several other bowlers who could have been a better fit for the team structure and could have performed well at the Wankhede Stadium. As a result, they had limited funds left to assemble a strong bowling attack, which was evident from their purchase of relatively inexperienced domestic fast bowlers like Basil Thampi and Jaydev Unadkat.
Moreover, due to budget constraints, MI failed to acquire quality Indian spinners, despite the fact that spin bowling is a crucial component of their game plan. In fact, they had to let go of several Indian spinners in order to make room for Archer in the auction.
1) Archer is injury-prone
Mumbai Indians were determined to secure Jofra Archer’s services, regardless of the cost, and ultimately purchased him for INR 8 crore, despite being aware that the fast bowler had not played any competitive cricket since May 2021 due to a stress fracture in his elbow. Archer even underwent surgery after his attempted comeback for Sussex that year.
Although Archer returned to competitive cricket in the SA20 league, he aggravated the injury while playing in the IPL. Mumbai Indians were already without Jasprit Bumrah and had placed a significant amount of faith in Archer to bolster their bowling attack. However, his absence has left their bowling attack lacking the necessary bite in the 2023 IPL season.
