IPL 2022 Retention: Kumar Sangakkara Explains Why Jofra Archer And Ben Stokes Weren't Retained By RR

The Director of Cricket Operations for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kumar Sangakkara, explained the thought process behind releasing two of their invaluable English players, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.

On Tuesday night, the eight franchises announced their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. Rajasthan opted to retain skipper Sanju Samson, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler, and the uncapped opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

It was a huge surprise for the fans and experts alike, considering Archer and Stokes are considered to be two of their biggest players. Speaking about the same, Sangakkara elaborated the reasoning behind opting to let them go.

“It’s extremely difficult. They are two of the best players in the world at the moment. Stokes is the best all-rounder I have seen in a very long time. [He’s] an absolute match-winner and he has shown that for Rajasthan Royals.“

“Absolutely brilliant as a team man, brilliant in a leadership role. He just brings his amazing energy to the field. We had to consider the number of retentions possible. Player availability, in terms of how much of the tournament that a player is available for,” Sangakkara said.

The players themselves understand the reasoning – Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara further mentioned that the same applied to Jofra Archer, but the two Englishmen understood the reason why they weren’t retained. Jofra has had issues with his injury for quite a while, which has kept him out of the T20 World Cup and will also keep him out of the upcoming Ashes series.

“It’s the same with Jofra. We did everything to ascertain the nature of the injury, the recovery period. There hasn’t been a phenomenon like Jofra Archer in any form of cricket, especially T20 cricket. And I know the players themselves understand our reasoning, even though they may be disappointed. I am sure they are, as we are as a franchise. All these dynamics come into play,” Sangakkara stated.

The IPL mega auction is likely to be scheduled at the end of this year or in early January.

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