IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra feels Jofra Archer's absence makes Rajasthan Royals' bowling attack weak

Aakash Chopra believes the injury-related absence of Jofra Archer and the uncertainty over Chris Morris' fitness makes the Rajasthan Royals' bowling attack weak.

Archer is likely to miss at least the initial part of IPL 2021 after he underwent surgery to remove a glass fragment from a tendon in his right hand. Morris is also prone to injuries and has not played much cricket since the last IPL.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out Jofra Archer's likely absence and the question marks over Chris Morris' fitness will considerably weaken the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack.

"Jofra has got a strange injury that he had a fish bowl in the room which fell and he got hurt but that has become a very serious issue. If Jofra is not there in their bowling and we don't know about Morris' fitness, you will play one out of Mustafizur Rahman or Andrew Tye, the bowling is weak," said Chopra.

The cricketer-turned commentator explained that the Rajasthan Royals don't have a potent Indian bowling attack, which was the case last season too.

"Let's be honest, the bowling might have Jaydev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi or Rahul Tewatia, it is a weak bowling lineup. You need the bowling to consistently do well. Last time also we saw Jofra giving 6.5 runs per over while the rest of the fast bowlers were giving 11.5. He is brilliant but if he is twice as good, it means the rest of the bowling looks very ordinary," added Chopra.

Jofra Archer's injury is a big blow to Rajasthan Royals but they can still get good results if the likes of Morris and Mustafizur play to their potential, and remain injury-free throughout the season. These two along with Kartik Tyagi form a potent pace attack.#IPL2021

— Prasenjit Dey 📰 (@CricPrasen) March 31, 2021

The Rajasthan Royals will hope Jofra Archer completes his recovery at the earliest and becomes available to play for them. The inaugural IPL champions' bowling attack certainly looks weak in his absence.

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"Rajasthan Royals' biggest weakness is overdependence on the overseas players" - Aakash Chopra

Ben Stokes is likely to open the batting for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra highlighted the Rajasthan Royals' over-reliance on their overseas professionals, even in the batting department, with the experienced Robin Uthappa also traded to the Chennai Super Kings.

"Their biggest weakness is overdependence on the overseas players. They have let Robin Uthappa go as well and have not taken some other good Indian batsman, Shivam Dube is a fantastic buy but you have not taken a top-order batsman," said Chopra.

The 43-year-old signed off by stating that the Rajasthan Royals' strategy to open with Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes may not be the best one as their batting unit is likely to come under immense pressure if the duo are dismissed early.

"Yashasvi is there but you are not giving him opportunities, so you have not developed him to become a better player or a match-winner. You have got your two overseas players to open, which is not an ideal thing. Nine out of ten times it is not a great strategy because if on any day both get out, there is no one down the order. So you will leave the baton with the kids, which is not the ideal thing," concluded Chopra.

The Rajasthan Royals might have to revisit their tactic of opening with their two best batsmen if things don't go their way in the initial stages of the tournament. They will either have to move one of them down the order or include David Miller in their playing XI if the middle-order fails to fire.

Eoin Morgan (in Sky Sports) said "Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes will be opening for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021".

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 2, 2021