Mumbai Indians had their eyes on England fast bowler Jofra Archer from well before the auction day but, according to the franchise owner Akash Ambani, their resolve to go all-out for him was firmed up only on Saturday night.
Mumbai were successful in snapping up Archer for INR 8 crore on the second day of the IPL 2022 auction. That they did so despite Archer not being available for IPL 2022 - he is recovering from elbow surgery - was perhaps the more interesting part.
"We bid for all fast bowlers before Jofra but were priced out," Ambani said after the auction. "The plans firmed up last night and it was not that we were setting aside the budget. We discussed him pre-auction but the plan was firmed up last night.
"We took all those considerations in after what the fast bowlers went for yesterday. One option became very clear that Jofra was the only fast bowler left in the list. He is not available this year but when he is fit and available we believe he will make a formidable partnership with [Jasprit] Bumrah."
Zaheer Khan, Mumbai's director of cricket operations, echoed that belief.
"You are eagerly waiting for the partnership to go on the field and so am I," he said. "To see two legendary fast bowlers bowling in tandem and I'm glad that it seems possible and will be worth the wait."
Archer was listed at a base price of INR 2 crore and was eventually the joint-most expensive overseas pick by Mumbai in the IPL. However, minutes later, they secured the Singapore-born Australian batter Tim David for INR 8.25 crore, making him the most expensive overseas buy in the franchise's history. David was listed at a base price of INR 40 lakh.
"Tim is a player we have been tracking for the last two-three years," Ambani said. "We believed in his skills and he is one of the best finishers in the world. As soon as we knew that Hardik [Pandya] 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."
David was part of the inaugural men's Hundred competition last year where he played for Southern Brave, the side coached by Mahela Jayawardene who also happens to be Mumbai's coach.
"He is a hot property at the moment and is known to be a hard hitter," Jayawardene said. "We knew we had funds available and a lot of the Hundred players were the target for us. Just like Bumrah-Archer combo [with the ball], Pollard-David can be a combo with the bat."
Mumbai Indians were also successful in securing the services of David's Southern Brave team-mate Tymal Mills for INR 1.5 crore. Mills was part of England's T20 World Cup squad before being ruled out because of a thigh strain.