Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer are two of the biggest superstars of world cricket at the moment. However, RR’s Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, sheds some light on their decision as to why didn’t inaugural IPL 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals retain them.
One of the biggest surprises, somewhat shocks, of the entire IPL 2022 Retention process was the exclusion of pacer Jofra Archer and all-rounder Ben Stokes from the list of players retained. Two of the biggest superstars of the game, both England regulars when fit, were expected to be the first names on the Rajasthan Royals’ list, but it wasn’t the case, and RR Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara explained the reason behind the same.
Ben Stokes And Jofra Archer Not Retained By Rajasthan Royals; Kumar Sangakkara Mentions Availability For The Injury Prone Duo A Reason Behind Their Axe
While speaking in a video uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the franchise, Kumar Sangakkara first praised Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and then went on to reveal the reasoning behind their astonishing decision.
“It’s extremely difficult. They are two of the best players in the world at the moment. Ben 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. 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,” elaborated Sangakkara.
Upon a brief study of their stats over the last two years, Rajasthan Royals’ move to release them into the IPL 2022 auction does begin to make sense.
Ben Stokes played 8 matches in 2020, scoring 285 and bagging a mere 2 wickets. In the 2021 edition, he only played one match before sustaining a finger injury. On the other hand, pacer Jofra Archer bagged 14 wickets in 14 matches during IPL 2020 but didn’t feature in a single game in the 2020 edition due to a long injury layoff.
Rajasthan Royals Retain Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, & Yashasvi Jaiswal In IPL 2022
Rajasthan Royals have retained Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the upcoming seasons. In the previous edition of the tournament, Sanju Samson scored 484 runs from 14 matches at an average of 40.33. About his captaincy, Sanju Samson brings in certain ease and calm in his approach.
Jos Buttler has scored in excess of 250 every time since making his IPL debut in 2016. While he had to leave IPL 2019 midway to join the England team for the World Cup 2019 preparations, he made an impact during his eight-game stint, scoring 311 runs, following his 548-run season in IPL 2018.
The right-hander scored 328 runs in the IPL 2020 and 254 runs in 7 games in the India leg of IPL 2021 that included a ton-his career-best 124 before opting out of the UAE leg IPL 2021. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler hit the top gear against Sunrisers Hyderabad by smashing 124 off 64 balls in an IPL 2021 match.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was bought by Rajasthan Royals for INR 2.40 Cr ahead of the IPL 2020. He managed 289 runs in 13 IPL games averaging a modest 22.23 with one fifty and a strike rate of 136.32.
Retention 1 – Sanju Samson (INR 14 Crores)
Retention 2 – Jos Buttler (INR 10 Crores)
Retention 3 – Yashasvi Jaiswal (INR 4 Crores )
With the three retentions, RR now has the purse of INR 62 Crores, heading into the mega auction.