Newly-appointed Director of Cricket of Rajasthan Royals, Kumar Sangakkara conceded that the absence of Jofra Archer will be a big blow to the former champions in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Sangakkara said RR will have to work towards preparing back-up plans to make sure they overcome the England’s pacers absence.
Jofra Archer underwent a surgery to treat his hand injury in March and it’s unclear whether the World Cup-winning pacer would return to play the IPL. Archer suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for the Test series. The ECB’s medical team managed the injury throughout the tour, and it did not impact his availability.
However, in Archer’s absence, the Royals would want Chris Morris, who broke the record for the costliest player at an IPL auction, to step up and lead the bowling attack. However, Kumar Sangakkara believes it’s important for the youngsters in the team, including Kartik Tyagi, to raise their game and chip in. RR also have the likes of Jaydev Unadkat and young Chetan Sakariya as their local pace-bowling talents.
Notably, Kartik Tyagi impressed for Rajasthan Royals with his pace and bounce last year in the UAE. A good show with the Royals helped Tyagi, the U-19 World Cup star, to tour Australia with the Indian team as a net bowler.
“Sanju and I will both agree that it’s a big blow for us. Jofra is a very vital part of our make-up and not to have him is unfortunately the reality of it. We have to work around it and plan contingencies,’ Sangakkara said, as quoted by the Press Trust of India.
“Most of the wickets are good for batting. So, you have to be quite skilful. We have Kartik Tyagi, who did pretty well last season in patches and this year we have new additions (pacer) Kuldeep Yadav (Jr) and Chetan Sakariya.”
For Sangakkara, it is imperative that these youngsters are prepared to understand match situations and bowl accordingly.
“It’s about keeping them focussed on what their job is and get them trained and prepared to execute different deliveries, scenarios and match plans for the opposition but at the same time, giving them confidence about their own strengths.”
Rajasthan Royals will open their campaign against Punjab Kings in Match 4 of IPL 2021 in Mumbai on Monday, April 12.
