The winners of the inaugural season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals, received a huge setback with the injury to England’s pace sensation Jofra Archer. After shelling out INR 7.2 crore per season for the bowler, the Royals would be devoid of his services in this edition of IPL.
Archer, while featuring in the Centurion Test, sustained a bone stress injury to his right elbow and missed out on the remainder of the series. Further, X-rays showed that the enigmatic fast bowler would miss out on the action for at least three months.
This means that the Royals have to look at a like-to-like replacement for the English seamer. Let’s look at the possible replacement for Archer in the upcoming edition of the IPL:
1.) Daniel Sams
The Sydney Thunder bowler raced on top of the bowling chart in this BBL season with 30 wickets to his tally, in the 17 matches played thus far. With a base price of just 20 lakhs, Sams fits perfectly into the Royals’ profile and they will be interested in the left arm pacer as a substitute for Archer.
2.) Mark Wood
A direct English swap and a like-to-like replacement, Wood appeared to be on a song with the ball in the recent series against South Africa. Wood might add to chemistry within the Royals’ camp with the presence of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes already in the dressing room. The pacer went unsold with a base price of 50 lakhs during the 2020 players’ auction.
3.) Ben Cutting
With a vast experience featuring in the IPL for various franchises, Australia’s Ben Cutting adds balance to the side with both bat and ball. Being a gun fielder, he also adds another facet to his game. With 217 runs coming down the order for Brisbane Heat and clinching 11 wickets, Cutting has had quite an impressive season for his high base price of 75 lakhs.
Special Mention – Adam Zampa
Now, with the absence of Krishnappa Gowtham, and slow Indian pitches during the backend of the tournament, Zampa might offer a handful for the Royals after going unsold in the auctions. During his last tour to India in the short ODI series, Zampa was the pick of the bowlers amongst the Aussies. It may not be a bad idea to pair Zampa up with Shreyas Gopal on dusty surfaces.
