IPL 2020: 5 Players Who Can Replace Injured Jofra Archer In Rajasthan Royals Squad

Even before the start of the IPL 2020, Rajasthan Royals have suffered a big injury blow. Their star allrounder Jofra Archer is out of the competition due to a stress fracture of the right elbow. According to reports, he is likely to remain on the sidelines for about three months which rules him out of the IPL that gets underway on March 29.

Jofra Archer’s injury will be a massive blow to Rajasthan Royals who retained the England pacer after he impressed in his first two seasons. Archer made his IPL debut with Rajasthan in 2018 after being bought for INR 7.2 crore and shone immediately with 15 wickets. In the 2019 edition, he impressed again and picked up 11 wickets while having an economy-rate of 6.76.

With less than two months remaining before the IPL gets underway, the Royals will now get busy in finding a perfect replacement for their star man. The inaugural winners have the option to seek a replacement although they will have to follow a rule which states that the replacement must have participated in the players auction. In addition to that, an injured player can be replaced only by a player whose base price in the auction is less than the price the injured player was bought for.

So with Archer’s price being INR 7.2 crore, the Royals can buy any player who went unsold in the auction. So, here we take a look at the players who are good options to replace Jofra Archer:

5. Kesrick Williams:

Just like the previous auctions, the auction for the upcoming auction also threw a number of surprises. While many big names earned hefty deals, there were who failed to attract any bid. Kesrick Williams was one such player who failed to attract any suitor.

The West Indies pacer was expected by many to cause a bidding war in the IPL auction. Prior to the auction, he was all over the news for his duel with Virat Kohli during the T20I series and also dismissed the India skipper once cheaply during the three-match series.

However, there was no bid in the auction for him despite the West Indies star registering himself at a base price of INR 50 lakh. The West Indies star has a wide range of variations needed to excel in Indian conditions and Royals could consider him to replace Archer.

4. Colin Munro:

While Colin Munro continues to be one of the best T20I players in the world, his record in IPL so far has been really dismal. But then again, everyone knows the ability he has. The New Zealand star is one of the only three players who have three or more T20I centuries to his name. He also has a T20I century in India.

The left-handed recently impressed against India too. In the five-match T20I series, he scored two impressive fifties at the top of the order. Munro also has the experience of playing in the IPL, having previously plied his trade for Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders.

3. Manoj Tiwary:

Manoj Tiwary was another name that did not attract any suitor in the last IPL auction. Despite being one of the big names in the domestic circuit and having ample experience of playing the IPL, the out-of-favour batsman failed to win the trust of the IPL teams.

However, he could play the upcoming edition after Archer’s injury if the Royals seriously take a look at his record. Manoj Tiwary was an integral part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team that won the IPL in 2012. In 2017, the batsman had played a key role in Rising Pune Supergiant’s run to the final. He scored 324 runs, including two half-centuries, in 15-matches for the Steve Smith-led, now-defunct side. Not to forget, the right-handed batsman also smashed a triple-century in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

2. Colin de Grandhomme

Another player who can attract Royals’ interest is New Zealand ace Colin de Grandhomme. Just like some of his compatriots, he too has failed to justify his reputation in the IPL but the South Africa-born allrounder’s record in international circuit is really impressive.

In 36 T20Is, his strike-rate is close to 145 while his strike-rate in Tests and ODIs is also impressive. De Grandhomme has a strike-rate over more than 83 in Tests and over 107 in ODIs. Having picked up more than 80 wickets in international cricket, he is also a handy medium fast-bowler who can trouble the best of the batsmen with his swing.

1. Mushfiqur Rahim:

The Bangladesh star is one of the great players of this generation who are yet to play in the IPL. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been one of the batting mainstays for Bangladesh for over a decade now and has proved his worth by performing well across the world.

But those fine and consistent exploits in international cricket has not earned him an IPL deal yet. He was a part of the auction for the upcoming season but surprisingly, none of the franchises bid for him. Well, with Archer out of the tournament now, Rajasthan Royals could rope in the reliable middle-order batsman.