Archer to be offered year-long contract by Mumbai Indians: Report

The five-time winners of the Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians (MI), are reportedly planning to extend a year-long contract to England's top pacer Jofra Archer. It should be noted that if the 28-year-old accepts the offer, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will then need approval from the team to let him play for the national side once more. If MI is able to pull this off, it will be an extremely rare occurrence.

Notably, Mumbai Indians acquired Jofra Archer at the 2022 IPL auction despite being aware that the cricketer would be unable to participate in even one game of the league.

Later, Archer was selected by MI Cape Town in preparation for the inaugural season of the SA20 league, where he took 10 wickets.

Despite the fact that the cricketer's fitness is a serious problem, MI are holding him back and may now wind up dictating his schedule (should Jofra sign such a deal) in order to keep him in shape for the different franchise-based events that MI are a part of. The two parties have not yet met to discuss this, but a Daily Mail report suggests that the franchise is prepared to put everything on the line. 

According to reports, players like Alex Hales can possibly receive such offers. The England international isn't a regular member of the national squad, which is why a certain team (name withheld) is eager to sign him. 

One among the favorites to sign with an IPL team is Kiwi bowler Trent Boult. The cricketer chose not to sign New Zealand's central contract in 2022, making him eligible to negotiate a contract of this kind with any of the teams. He now represents the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, a team that also has affiliations with the Punjab Royals and Barbados Royals in the SA20 and CPLT20.