"No point paying a rupee," Sunil Gavaskar asks what Jofra Archer has given to Mumbai Indians

Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his annoyance with Jofra Archer's approach the most, doubting the England quick's dedication to the team.

Sunil Gavaskar, a former India opener, had criticized England pacer Jofra Archer for leaving the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp midway through the IPL 2023. Archer, who appeared in just five games for MI this season, suffered a recurrence of the elbow problem.

Jofra Archer had previously missed nearly eight months of cricket due to the same issue. Despite knowing he would be unavailable that season, MI purchased him in the IPL 2022 auction for INR 8 crores. MI believed he would spearhead their attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah when he returned to international and league cricket in January of this year.

However, he only played four games at the start of the season and missed a couple of others while supposedly flying to Belgium for elbow surgery.  He returned and played only one game before traveling back to the United Kingdom.

The ECB then stated that Archer has a stress fracture in his elbow and would miss the Ashes as well was in danger of not playing in the ODI World Cup in 2023.

What has irritated Sunil Gavaskar the most is Archer's demeanor, with the former India captain questioning the England quick's dedication to the franchise.

"What has been Mumbai Indian's experience of Jofra Archer? They took a punt on him knowing that he was injured and would be available only from this season. They paid big money for him and what has he given in return? He didn't seem 100 percent fit and he should have informed the franchise about it. They only realized when he turned up and found that he was barely able to bowl at his usual pace.

In between the tournament, he went abroad for treatment which is what his country's cricket board apparently said. So, he was never fully fit, but still came over. If he was committed to the franchise, which probably pay him more than the ECB does, he should have stayed right till the end even if he wasn't going to play and show his commitment towards the franchise. Instead, he has opted to fly off back to the UK," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.        

Jofra Archer will be lucky if he gets his full fee for the IPL: Sunil Gavaskar

During the IPL, a story surfaced that Archer had traveled to England to see a doctor, which the fast bowler denied on Twitter.

And now that Archer has officially returned home to 'concentrate on his rehabilitation' after being pulled out of England's Ashes squad for the five-Test series against Australia, Gavaskar wants MI to 'not be fools' and deposit the complete amount given to him in his bank account.

He added: "A day later, a story appears that he is going to get a multi-million-pound deal with Mumbai Indians to play for their team in the various leagues in the world. This has got to be the greatest diversionary trick attempted. Mumbai Indians are not fools to sign a lame horse for any future race. Make no mistake, Mumbai Indians won't be amused at the turn of events and now that they have come back well in the tournament without his presence, he will be lucky if he gets his full fee for the IPL, and if he does then he would do well to give half to his favorite charity."

Apart from Archer, this IPL 2023 alone, Kyle Jamieson (INR 1 crore by CSK), Jhye Richardson (INR 1.5 crore by MI), and Will Jacks (INR 3.2 crore by RCB) have incurred huge losses to their respective franchises.

"There's simply no point paying even one rupee for a player, however big a name he may be, if he is not going to be available for the entire tournament. It's got to be the player's choice to pick playing for an IPL franchise or his country. Full marks to him if he chooses country over IPL, but if he chooses IPL then he has to fulfill his commitments totally and not make some excuse and leave early, especially towards the time when qualifying for the Playoffs becomes crucial," added Gavaskar.

"For far too long the franchises have been too lenient and allowed players to leave towards the latter half of the tournament. This is mainly a problem with English players and like said earlier, it is totally understandable to choose to play for the country, but if you have signed up for the IPL then you got to fulfill your commitments to your franchise right till the end of the tournament. If the franchise fails to qualify for the Playoffs, you get to return a week early,” he signed off.