England pacer Jofra Archer is happy with his new franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI), which have won a record five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles. He also believes it’s close-knit and family-oriented teams and they always do well. Notably, Archer was bought by Mumbai Indians for a huge price of Rs 8 crore despite his unavailability in the IPL season as well.
The speedster, who has undergone two surgeries to treat his injured right elbow, will be out of the IPL this year too as he continues his recovery from all the injuries. But he’s excited to join the franchise in the future also. “MI looks very close-knit and family-oriented and such teams always do well. That’s why it is no surprise that we have won five titles,” Archer told the team’s official social media handle.
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“Polly’s (Kieron Pollard) been there 10 years, (Lasith) Malinga was there a long time, the same with Rohit (Sharma) too. These things make you feel safe when you come into the team as a new player. I think you need to be calm as a fast bowler because you have to know when to step it up and when to tone it down,” he said. “Being calm allows me to just make better decisions. Bowling also doesn’t really change much according to conditions, you just have to know when and where to use your variations.”
“I mean, I won’t call it one of my best deliveries because he still came back and batted in the rest of that series. For me, the best ball always has to be a wicket-taking delivery, the batter has to be sent back,” he said, while picking the one that got Travis Head’s wicket in the fourth Test as his best delivery so far as well. “I think the best delivery I have ever bowled came in that series when I knocked back Travis Head’s middle stump in the fourth Test. The previous ball he had just driven me down the ground and I was angry. The next ball I remember getting one back into him and I had a smug look on my face after.”
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“The change of environment is good because you then get to challenge yourself. It is all right to perform in your comfort zone, but when you actually go away and start performing in a different team, in a different setting, only then can you probably start rating yourself. It is like when Cristiano Ronaldo first left England, people said he may not be good outside, but then he has performed and done it wherever he has gone. No one can ever question his skill now. It is pretty much the same concept,” Jofra Archer concluded.
