3 reasons why Mumbai Indians signing Chris Jordan for IPL 2023 is the right move

Media reports on Sunday, April 30, stated that England fast bowler Chris Jordan has joined Mumbai Indians (MI) as a replacement player for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The England pacer had put his name in the IPL 2023 auction at a base price of ₹2 crore but went unsold.

It is not yet clear as to who Jordan has replaced in the Mumbai Indians squad. The 34-year-old right-arm pacer, who is also a useful batter lower down the order and an excellent fielder, represented the Gulf Giants at ILT20 in February.

He was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, claiming 20 wickets in 10 innings at an average of 13.80. Jordan also featured in three T20Is against Bangladesh in March.

With the England pace bowler added to the MI squad for the remainder of the ongoing IPL season, we analyze three reasons why the move is the right one.

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#1 Mumbai Indians need a good death bowler

Death bowling is one area where the Mumbai Indians have struggled in IPL 2023. They conceded 69 runs in the last five overs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Before that, in the game against Gujarat Titans (GT), they were clobbered for 77 runs in the last five overs.

In the match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, they leaked 96 in the last overs as Arjun Tendulkar was smashed for 31 runs in the 16th - the joint-most expensive over in the ongoing IPL edition. It has been a similar sorry story in some of the other games as well.

They have tried the likes of Riley Meredith, Jofra Archer, and Arshad Khan at the death, but things haven’t quite worked out. Meredith has claimed seven wickets but has an economy rate of 10.53. Archer has claimed two wickets in three games at an economy of 9.17, while Arshad has four wickets in as many matches, but at a very high economy of 13.41.

Jordan is a death-overs specialist and could be utilized by Mumbai. He too has had his woes during the end overs. But given his recent form, he should be confident of doing a good job for Mumbai.

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#2 They need a backup for injury-prone Jofra Archer

In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence for the entire edition of IPL 2023 due to a recurring back issue, the Mumbai Indians would have been hoping for Jofra Archer to make up for his absence.

But the England fast bowler himself has been dealing with injury issues, having only made an international comeback earlier this year after a gap of nearly two years.

Archer has only played in three of Mumbai Indians’ eight matches so far. While he has bowled at a decent pace, he hasn’t looked anywhere near his best as of yet. Concerns over his fitness remain after head coach Mark Boucher confirmed that Archer had visited Belgium for minor surgery.

The right-arm pacer also missed one game due to illness. With so much uncertainty around Archer’s fitness, Mumbai Indians will need a backup for the second half of IPL 2023. The decision to pick Jordan makes sense in this respect as well.

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#3 Chris Jordan has the experience to make an impact

Jordan is not new to the IPL, having previously represented multiple franchises like Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings (PBKS), and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The 34-year-old has picked up 27 IPL wickets in 28 matches at an average of 30.85 and an economy of 9.32. He may go for a few runs but also has the ability to pick up key wickets.

Jordan has an excellent overall record in the T20 format. In 302 matches, he has picked up 315 wickets at an average of 27.36, with five four-wicket hauls.

Jordan’s presence will also strengthen the Mumbai Indians' batting to an extent. He has 1588 runs to his name at a strike rate of 126.33, with a best of 73.