"When Jofra Archer is fit and available, with Bumrah he will make a formidable partnership"- Akash Ambani

Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani explained the reasons behind the franchise opting for pacer Jofra Archer in the mega-auction despite the English cricketer not being available for the 14th season.

Archer was picked by the five-time champions at a sum of Rs 8 Crore, which will now unite two of the leading white-ball seamers in the world in him and Jasprit Bumrah.

Bumrah and Archer bowling in tandem is a stuff of dreams (or nightmare) depending on your loyalties. And that is why MI went all out in claiming the services of the Barbados-born cricketer despite his unavailability for the 2022 season.

Addressing the media following the culmination of the two-day auction, Akash said, "Well, yeah we took all those considerations, after yesterday what all the fast bowlers went at, Jofra Archer was the only marquee pacer left in the list so we had discussed his name previously also. He is not available this year, when he is fit and available, with Bumrah he will make a formidable partnership,”

Apart from Archer, Mumbai also claimed the services of Singapore-born swashbuckling batsman Tim David for a whopping sum of Rs 8.5 Crores.

The reason behind MI going for David is the absence of Hardik Pandya. With Pandya junior no longer available and the paucity of finishers like him in India, the elusive slot had to go to an overseas batsman, Ambani reasoned.

"Tim is a player we have been tracking for the last two or three years, last year he got experience with RCB and that was crucial for him to know what goes in the IPL. Once we knew Hardik was not on our team sheet, we knew that slot had to go to a foreigner, because there is no one in India like Hardik,” he said.

"I hope players we bought in the auction don’t feel the pressure of the price tag because that is all auction dynamics,” he added.

Overall, Mumbai completed their squad of 25 by shelling out Rs 47.9 crores, including a staggering Rs 15.25 crores for Ishan Kishan.