Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians remained relatively quiet in the recent mega auction but the franchise did acquire a couple of big names at the event. The Mumbai outfit splurged ₹8 crore to buy Jofra Archer, a staggering sum considering the England pacer's recent struggles with injury. They also broke the bank to buy back young opener Ishan Kishan for ₹15.25 crore on the first day of the auction.
When it came to getting a player who can bolster the team with his ability to finish games, Mumbai Indians shelled out ₹8.25 crore for Tim David. Mumbai Indians will be without Hardik and Krunal Pandya and David's addition to the mix secures the batting unit, which was craving for a finisher who can chip in with a late blitz.
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Reacting to David's inclusion to the Mumbai Indians set-up, former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said there will be pressure on the Singaporean cricketer when he plays in the IPL.
"Definitely, with the high price tag, comes a lot of expectations and pressure from your franchise. It is not until you get into the game-time when you really know how to absorb that pressure that is there. I have seen a number of players who have had that expectation and they thrived under it -- Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are those kinds of guys," said Watson on the 'ICC Review' show.
{{/usCountry}}"Definitely, with the high price tag, comes a lot of expectations and pressure from your franchise. It is not until you get into the game-time when you really know how to absorb that pressure that is there. I have seen a number of players who have had that expectation and they thrived under it -- Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are those kinds of guys," said Watson on the 'ICC Review' show.
{{/usCountry}}"But there are a number of guys, you can see that the pressure suffocated their performance. Tim David of Singapore plays in the BBL, first time he has got the opportunity to play in the IPL and he will play for Mumbai Indians, so there will be pressure. It does provide different complexities and it is exciting about the IPL," Watson further added.
The first Singaporean to play in the lucrative T20 league in the country, David was snapped up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the last IPL edition. He was picked as a replacement player by the Bangalore outfit ahead of the second leg but David played just one game last year.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene also revealed that David was on the team's radar ahead of the mega auction. The franchise also bought England pacer in Tymal Mills, for ₹1.5 crore, and Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith for ₹1 crore.
"He was on our radar for a while. he has been playing well for the last few months. We knew Jofra would come late so we couldn't go hard in the beginning but needed someone to strengthen our batting so we decided to play a different game altogether. David was part of that plan. We had the purse to go get them both," Mumbai Indians' website had quoted Jayawardene as saying.