Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) interim captain Riyan Parag is in trouble. One of his best strike bowlers, Jofra Archer, is in horrid form. In their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the Englishman was thumped to every corner of the ground.
So poor was Archer that he became the record holder for conceding the most runs in an IPL innings. He was taken for 76 runs in his 4 overs. That’s 3 runs for every ball he bowled, plus four more runs.
𝙄.𝘾.𝙔.𝙈.𝙄
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 23, 2025
Ishan Kishan dealt in sixes on his way to a magnificent maiden #TATAIPL
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No RR bowler did well against SRH, who scored 286 runs. But the next worst RR bowler who bowled his full quota of overs, Maheesh Theekshana, conceded 52 runs and got two wickets as well. Archer came back empty-handed.
Jofra Archer’s T20 issues since getting injured
Just on name and credentials, one might say that it was an aberration. But was it? The answer is no. Ever since Archer injured his elbow in January 2020, he’s not been the same. He hasn’t been able to get the reps in. In the starting 4 years of his career, he played 92 T20 matches. Since 2020, he’s played just 60.
His economy, average, and strike rate have gone up in the last five years. Some of it is due to the changing landscape of T20 cricket but also due to him struggling.
Jofra Archer bowling stats in T20
| Innings | Overs | Wickets | Economy | Average | Strike Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2019 | 92 | 348.2 | 121 | 7.79 | 22.4 | 17.3 |
| 2020-Now | 60 | 229 | 72 | 7.90 | 25.1 | 19.1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 24 | 6 | 11.75 | 47 | 24 |
He was bankable in the powerplay and death. Now, it seems he isn’t effective anywhere. The pace remains but the accuracy has been way off. In 2025, he’s played 6 matches and got 6 wickets at 47. His stats suggest, that he gets 1 wicket and that too while giving away 47 runs on average per match. That’s unacceptable.
If not Archer, then who?
Parag and the RR management must drop him. At this point, he isn’t providing them with anything good. Have Fazalhaq Farooqi on the team and bring Wanindu Hasaranga in Archer’s place. Sandeep Sharma is already a guaranteed choice in both the powerplay and death over. Yes, Farooqi may go for runs in the fag end but could it be worse than what Archer has been in 2025?
RR squad for IPL 2025
Batters: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer
, Nitish Rana, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kunal Rathore
All-rounders: Riyan Parag, Wanindu Hasaranga
Bowlers: Sandeep Sharma, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Akash Madhwal, Yudhvir Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma
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