England’s lethal speedster Jofra Archer was spotted batting in the nets during Mumbai’s practice session. Mumbai roped him back in the mega auction but he did not play last year due to an injury. This year he is roaring to make a comeback in the cash-rich league taking place from March 31.
MI’s official Twitter account posted a video where Archer was seen in an attacking mode. ‘Presenting to you, 𝐉𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 धमाकेदार 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫,’ MI captioned the post.
The English fast bowler recently was spotted playing in the T20I series and five in the ODI series against Bangladesh. As far as franchise cricket is concerned, Jofra played in the SA20 league for MI Cape Town and concluded the season with 10 wickets in six matches he played.
Since Bumrah is not playing in the IPL 2023, all eyes will be on Archer to fill the gap left by India’s speedster.
“Losing Bumrah has been a big loss for us, I will be honest with that. With losing players, you sometimes get opportunities,” coach Mark Boucher said.
“The way Mumbai Indians have selected their squads over the last few years is that you select your playing eleven, you select your back-up eleven, and then you invest in a couple of youngsters for the future. It’s now time for those youngsters to show up and basically get the opportunity.
“For me, the big thing for the bowling line-up is that we have got experience, but we have one or two spaces for the youngsters to come through and really showcase their skills. I am really looking forward to seeing them.”
Earlier, Archer was spotted meeting with Jasprit Bumrah during the WPL 2023 final at the Brabourne Stadium.
Mumbai Indians will start their IPL 2023 campaign by facing Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 2.