IPL 2021: Kumar Sangakkara opines on Jofra Archer’s unavailability

IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been dealt with a massive blow as there is uncertainty regarding the presence of their ace speedster Jofra Archer for the entire 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. Jofra has been suffering from a hand and elbow injury and has undergone surgery for the same reason. Thus, the England pacer has been ruled out of at least the first four matches of the IPL.

However, both RR and the fans are yet to receive an update regarding the availability of Archer in the second half. There is no doubt that the Royals will miss the presence of Jofra as he was the backbone of RR’s bowling line-up. Speaking about the same, Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara reckoned that the England quick has been a vital part of RR and the team needs to revise their strategy.

“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 having him is unfortunately the reality of it. We have to work around it and plan contingencies,” Sangakkara said as quoted by Times of India.

Meanwhile, Sangakkara showed faith in the Indian pace bowling attack saying that the team has quite a few skilful bowlers in the form of Kartik Tyagi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Chetan Sakariya. “Most of the wickets are good for batting. So, you have to be quite skillful. 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,” said Sangakkara.

It’s about keeping players focused on what their job is, says Kumar Sangakkara

Further, the former Sri Lanka cricketer, reckoned that they want all the eleven players in the team needs to be focused and trained to do their job properly as that will help the skipper Sanju Samson a lot on the field

“It’s about keeping them focused 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.

“That really helps the skipper Sanju a lot on the field when people are thinking themselves as to what’s going on (match situation), and it also builds a lot of trust within the unit,” he added.