'It was like when Cristiano Ronaldo first left England': MI-bound Archer reveals why he wanted to leave Rajasthan Royals

Jofra Archer is set to turn up for the Mumbai Indians whenever he is deemed fit enough to play after his three-year stint with the Rajasthan Royals came to an end in the IPL.

England fast bowler Jofra Archer said that he has to prove himself in the Indian Premier League (IPL) outside of the Rajasthan Royals setup and is looking to do that when he is able to play for five-time Mumbai Indians. Archer has been a standout performer for RR and it was during his time with the franchise that he went on to make his Test debut for England and won the 2019 World Cup. 

Archer was bought by Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022 auction

Archer said that it is time that he proved himself outside of where he started from in the IPL and compared the situation to how Portuguese football great Cristiano Ronaldo took his goalscoring statistics up to a different when he first left Manchester United in 2009.  

“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,” Archer said in an interview with MI TV. 

“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.”

Mumbai Indians bought Archer for ₹8 crore despite his long standing injury troubles making it doubtful if he can play in the IPL this season. 

Archer clarified that he would only be able to join the franchise for the 16th season as he continues to recover from his elbow injury.

"As it stands, it was always going to be next year. But I think I have progressed a bit faster than we all thought we would have which is still good but it's still gonna be next year. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up too high. I don't want to disappoint anyone. So I'm going to say next year," he said.