3 Players Mumbai Indians can target if Jofra Archer gets ruled out of IPL 2023

Five-time champions, the mighty Mumbai Indians find themselves languishing at the bottom of the table, for the first time in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL), having just mustered only three wins from 13 matches this season. While no one was expecting such a shocking season for the most successful franchise in the history of IPL, many people blamed MIs auction strategy- such as not retaining Hardik Pandya, or splashing big on the likes of Ishan Kishan, Tim David (who they subsequently dropped after limited opportunities) and an unavailable Jofra Archer (which was common knowledge among all franchises). 

The injury-prone English speedster was still a viable investment for the future, making up a mouth-watering pace combination with Jasprit Bumrah. With this nightmare season almost behind them, MI will be hoping their questionable decision to splurge on Jofra Archer will pay off next season. However, Archer has been dealt yet another fresh injury blow, having been ruled of the 2022 English season with a stress fracture. 

Although the next season is a long time away, it is still plausible that Archer could be ruled out again, having not played competitive cricket since May 2021 and struggled to recover from his regular injury issues with this latest setback sidelining him for a considerable period of time yet again.

To avoid a repeat of this season, MI find themselves in a far from ideal situation and should already start looking at able replacements, which could be hard to find given Archer’s skillset and the amount of investment made in the 27-year-old.

Here we look at three possible replacements for Jofra Archer MI might go for if he is ruled out of IPL 2023:

1. Mitchell Starc

The only thing better for MI than a prospective Bumrah-Archer partnership is a potential Bumrah-Starc pairing. The Australian talisman, widely considered as one of the best white-ball bowlers in the game currently, withdrew himself (not for the first time) from the 2022 IPL mega auction.

Although not for certain, he will mostly be a part of the proceedings next season. Starc is probably the ablest and like-for-like replacement for Archer, and it is a no-brainer for any IPL franchise, especially MI to consider him to fill up the gaping hole left by Archer. 

With the ability to swing the bowl, clock in the high 150s, take wickets with the new ball as well as keep runs down at the death, Mitchell Starc is the complete package and might be the subject of a bidding war. So MI will need a fair share of luck and a big pay cheque to snap him up.