IPL 2020: 3 players who could replace Jofra Archer at Rajasthan Royals

Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the upcoming IPL season due to a low-grade stress fracture.

Archer's right elbow caused him some problems during the recently concluded Test series against South Africa. After playing the first game, he was ruled out of the next two before suffering a recurrence of pain when he was bowling during the warm-up for the fourth game.

The English Cricket Board has confirmed that has been ruled out of England's tour of Sri Lanka and the Indian Premier League. This comes as a huge blow for the Rajasthan Royals as they rely heavily on Archer. He has been a consistent performer for the franchise over the last two years and they will need to find a replacement player immediately.

Archer was bought for ₹7.6 crore during the 2018 auction and hence, the franchise won't have to consider the base price of the replacement player. Here's a look at 3 players who could potentially replace the Englishman.

#3 Adam Zampa

BBL Challenger - Melbourne Stars v Sydney Thunder

Adam Zampa wouldn't be a like-for-like replacement, but he is someone who can be considered owing to the peculiar team composition of the Royals. They already have three overseas fast bowlers in the form of Tom Curran, Oshane Thomas and Andrew Tye and hence, could look to bolster their spin bowling department.

Shreyas Gopal and Mayank Markande are the only proven wicket-takers and their other spinners are average at best. Zampa could prove to be a good addition as he has been in good form for Australia and Melbourne Stars.

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He has picked up 18 wickets at a strike rate of 14 in the Big Bash this season, while maintaining an economy rate of 7.14. Zampa is also placed No. 4 in the ICC rankings for bowlers in the T20I format.

The former Rising Pune Supergiant player has picked up 162 wickets in his career at a strike rate of 18.1 and has an economy rate of 7.24. He is an experienced campaigner and would be really useful if picked.

#2 Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur Rahman would be one of the best options for the Rajasthan Royals due to his impressive record in the shortest format of the game. The left-arm fast bowler was one of the top wicket-takers in the World Cup last year and he followed that up with an excellent showing in the Bangladesh Premier League, where he picked up 20 wickets at a strike rate of 13.3 and an economy rate of 7.01.

Mustafizur has picked up 135 T20 wickets at a strike rate of 17.9 in his career. His economy rate of 7.33 is excellent for someone who bowls the majority of his overs during the power play and at the death.

The former Sunrisers Hyderabad player has the ability to stem the flow of runs during the death overs with his wide range of slower balls. He can also bowl the perfect yorker at 135-140 kph.

"The Fizz" is arguably one of the better death bowlers in the world and he will undoubtedly be one of the top contenders to replace the injured Archer.

#1 Mark Wood

Mark Wood

Mark Wood would be a like-for-like replacement for Archer as the two are very similar in many aspects of the game. Both of them can bowl at speeds exceeding 145 kph and due to their pace, they also have a sharp and effective bouncer. Like his injured countryman, Wood is excellent with the new ball and can also bowl at the death.

While Archer stole the limelight with his performances at the World Cup, Wood was equally effective and in fact their stats were fairly similar. Wood has picked up 30 wickets at a strike rate of 16.7 in his T20I career and has an economy rate of 8.03. While the Englishman hasn't played a lot of T20 cricket in recent times, the upcoming series against South Africa will surely help him.

Wood has been in excellent form over the last 8-10 months and if he can deliver the goods against South Africa, his chances of being picked up by the Royals will increase tremendously.