Jofra Archer replacement: 3 players who can replace Archer at Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2020

Jofra Archer replacement: The SportsRush present before you three names who have it in them to replace the injured Rajasthan Royals fast bowler.

There is no going into a safe house about the fact that fast bowler Jofra Archer getting ruled out from the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League has come as a massive blow for Rajasthan Royals.

Undoubtedly the leader of Rajasthan’s bowling attack, filling the void created by Archer’s absence will be no mean task for the franchise which won the inaugural season of the IPL.

In the 21 matches which Archer has played across two season for the Royals, he has picked 26 wickets at an average of 23.69, an economy rate of 7.52 and a strike rate of 18.82.

After the news broke out, Rajasthan took to their Twitter account to announce that they are working closely with the England Cricket Board to make Archer IPL-ready. Archer, who has succumbed to a stress fracture in his elbow, will require a miraculous recovery to take part in IPL 2020.

Even if he is made available for the tournament during its second half, Royals are highly likely to include a replacement player till the time Archer will be unavailable.

The presence of specialist overseas fast bowlers in Tom Curran, Andrew Tye and Oshane Thomas should decrease Royals’ worries for they already possess some able replacement for Archer in their final XI.

Jofra Archer replacement

Mustafizur Rahman

Bangladesh fast-medium bowler Mustafizur Rahman might have gone off track with respect to his potential in T20s but he still remains a crucial option for T20 franchises around the world.

In the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League, Rahman picked 20 wickets at an average of 15.60, an economy rate of 7.01 and a strike rate of 13.3 to finish as the highest wicket-taker.

In 39 T20Is, the 24-year old left-arm pacer has dismissed 53 batsmen at an average of 21.39, an economy rate of 7.97 and a strike rate of 16 which speak highly of his skills in this format.

Furthermore, Rahman’s presence will be add a contrast to Royals’ setup which already contains three right-arm pacers. If their sole left-arm seamer in Jaydev Unadkat doesn’t fire, Rahman can replace him as well with a right-arm India pacer replacing one out of Curran, Tye or Thomas.

James Pattinson

Much like Archer, Australia fast bowler James Pattinson is an out and out fast bowler who will have pace as his biggest weapon against the opposition batsmen. Having made his way back into the Australian setup, 29-year old Pattinson also represented Brisbane Heat in the ongoing ninth season of the Big Bash League.

In the six matches that Pattinson played in the BBL this season, he dismissed nine batsmen at an average of 20.22, an economy rate of 7.97 and a strike rate of 15.2 including a maiden T20 five-wicket haul against Adelaide Strikers.

While Pattinson might not have played as much of T20 cricket as others who started at a time when he did, he certainly contains the skills which can make his maiden IPL season a fruitful one.

Ben Cutting

In what will go down as an out of the box selection especially with respect to including a replacement for Archer, Australia all-rounder Ben Cutting might work wonders for Royals in more ways than expected.

Playing Cutting might force Royals to make an additional change in their XI but his presence down the order will bolster their chances of finishing innings in a better way. With all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham traded to Kings XI Punjab, Cutting can play a similar role which the former used to play for RR in IPL 2019.

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Much like Pattinson, Cutting also played for Heat in BBL 2019-20. In the 31.2 overs that he bowled in the entire season, he picked 11 wickets at an average of 25.09, an economy rate of 8.80 and a strike rate of 17.

Cutting’s 217 runs came at an average of 24.11 and a strike rate of 122.59 including a match-winning 43* (29) against Hobart Hurricanes at the Gabba.