"Don't think you pick a team to not shape up well" - Shane Bond defends MI's decision to buy Jofra Archer in IPL 2022

Mumbai Indians (MI) bowling coach Shane Bond believes that the franchise made a smart decision by buying England speedster Jofra Archer in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

Archer's availability for the IPL 2022 season was shrouded in doubt, but MI shelled out INR 8 crore for his services with an eye on the future. While the move raised many eyebrows, Shane Bond believes it is a calculated risk taken by MI to ensure that Archer is a part of their long-term project.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, here's what Bond said about the prospect of Archer bowling in tandem with Jasprit Bumrah in the future:

"I don't think you pick a team to not shape up well. We are just hoping that he (Jofra Archer) can be with us for long term. He is one of the best, if not the best, foreign bowlers in the IPL in recent seasons. Bumrah and Jofra together will be an exciting combination."

Archer last played competitive cricket back in July 2021. Injury issues have kept him away from the action for nearly a year.

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Rohit Sharma worked really hard behind the scenes: Shane Bond

MI skipper Rohit Sharma had his worst season with the bat in IPL 2022. However, Shane Bond revealed that the 35-year-old was actively involved in team meetings to get the most out of the available resources.

The 46-year-old believes that the on-field results don't do justice to the hard work that Sharma put in off the field. He stated:

"He (Rohit) did a huge amount of work behind the scenes with bowlers meetings and one-on-one meetings with the bowlers to get us to a position that we will perform. Sometimes that hard work doesn't come on the field. We started to get rewards towards the back end, but by then we were out of the competition."

Rohit Sharma and MI will hope that what happened in IPL 2022 was merely an aberration. The franchise will already be focused on bouncing back next season.