Jofra Archer Will Not Play In IPL 2022, Will Return In IPL 2023, Confirms MI Owner Akash Ambani

Mumbai Indians (MI) owner Akash Ambani has confirmed that England fast bowler Jofra Archer will not play in the IPL 2022 edition despite the franchise spending a fortune on getting him in the IPL 2022 Auction which is underway in Bengaluru on February 13.

Archer, who is recovering from an elbow surgery, which was done to get rid of a persistent issue that led to him missing the T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes 2021-22 in Australia, also missed out on the IPL 2021 after experiencing some problems with his bowling hand.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) authorities had already informed ECB have confirmed that Archer was “unlikely” to play in IPL 2022 and if any franchise picks him and he doesn’t turn up, they would not be able to get a replacement. The England and Wales Cricket Board planning a June return for the fast bowler, there are chances that Jofra will be a regular in the Test squad, once he is fit.

However, still, once his name came up in the accelerated auction process on day two of the IPL 2022 auction, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals got into a bidding war for the England pacer, with the five-time IPL champions coming out victors with a bid of INR 8.00 crores.

Talking about getting Archer in the auction, MI owner Akash Ambani confirmed that he will not be playing in the IPL 2022.

He said: “Jofra Archer was a player who Mahela gave his first professional debut to. We’ve been thinking about it ever since. This year, he won’t be with us, but next year, Jofra and Boom will be great together.”

Jofra Archer was the Most Valuable Player of the IPL tournament in his debut year in IPL 2020.

I Wouldn’t Have Believed It If Someone Said We Will Get Ishan Kishan And Jofra Archer In Auction: Akash Ambani

Jofra Archer has 46 wickets in 35 IPL matches with a best of 3/15 at an economy of 7.13. Akas Ambani also said that he was elated at the purchases the Mumbai Indians have made in the IPL 2022 auction as it was unbelievable that they bought both Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer in one event.

He said: “if someone said to me that Mumbai Indians will walk out with Ishan Kishan and Jofra Archer after the auction, I wouldn’t have believed it”.

Apart from Archer and Kishan, MI also bought players like Dewald Brevis, Tymal Mills, Tim David, and Riley Meredith amongst others.

Also Read: IPL 2022 Auction: I Only Wanted To Play For CSK, Couldn’t Imagine Playing For Another Team: Deepak Chahar