Want people to see me as a player, not as a price: Archer

Jofra Archer doesn't want to be judged by the price he got at the IPL auction but for the player that he is. The Barbados-born English pacer said he got the money at the auction because he was in demand from other franchises. Mumbai Indians bought him for Rs 8 crore (USD1.04 million).

"I want people to know that if you don't play you don't get paid. I want people to see me as a player and not as a price like that behind me. You only got that money because other teams wanted you," said Archer, 26, making his first public comment since being picked at the auction.

Archer will be available for Mumbai Indians only from next season and said he is glad about getting into a close-knit franchise. "It looks very close knit. Akash (Ambani, the owner of the franchise) called and we spoke about Arsenal - I don't know why he likes Arsenal. It is very a close knit team."

Recalling the turn of events at the auction, where he was chased by three franchises - Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad apart from Mumbai Indians -- he said, "I had to go on IPL website to see the video of it. I was training. Then my phone started to go up, back to back messages. I think SRH and MI team went for me. When I saw my phone, I knew exactly what happened. I really got excited. It's a great franchise. Mahela (Jayawardene, the MI coach) was my first franchise coach as well. Polly (Kieron Pollard) as well, played a few games against him. This is the first time ever I will be playing in the same team with him. Really excited to get started," he said.

Asked what he thought of the IPL as a whole, Archer said it is a good platform where he gets to bat enough. "It is (IPL) an opportunity to bat. You may not necessarily get the opportunity to bat at your club or country. You may not get a lot in the game, but you always have enough time to bat in the nets. No one chases you at the nets. You can always come back and bat again. To me that helps my batting," he said.