8 interesting facts about Jofra Archer

Ever since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been several surprises thrown up, both in the auction and during the main event. Even during the recently concluded mega-auction, several choices by franchises raised eyebrows. Jofra Archer is a pretty unknown name and had a base price of 40 Lakhs in the auction.

However, teams went all-out for the cricketer and it was eventually the Rajasthan Royals who grabbed him for a whopping price of 7.2 crores. While the teams gear up for the main event in April, we take you through some of the fascinating facts from Archer’s career.

1. Birth and career

Jofra Archer is an all-round cricketer who was born on April 1, 1995, at Bridgetown in Barbados. He has played for Barbados Under-19s, Hobart Hurricanes, Sussex, Sussex 2nd XI and West Indies Under-19s during his career.

2. Under-19 for West Indies

Jofra Archer has grown up in Barbados and went on to play three times for the West Indies Under-19 team in 2013. However, he was left out of the Windies squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2014.

3. First class debut against Pakistan

Archer made his first-class debut in a Tour Match for Sussex against the Pakistanis in July 2016. He was impressive with the cherry and nipped out four wickets for 49 runs in 22 overs. He got the wickets of Mohammad Hafeez, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali and Misbah-ul-Haq. The fast-bowler also dismissed Hafeez in the second innings.

4. Team-mates with Chris Jordan

Jofra Archer went out of contention after he suffered a back-injury after which he moved to England to shape his career. He was introduced to the Sussex management by another Barbados-born cricketer- Christopher Jordan. He played for the Sussex second XI and for Horsham in the Sussex Premier League.

He is also a teammate with Chris Jordan at the first-class level for Sussex. Archer has played 20 first-class games thus far and has been a prolific performer for them with 89 wickets. He has displayed skills with the willow and has scored 833 runs with a highest score of 81 not out.

5. Appreciation from Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn is one the most renowned fast-bowlers who sets high benchmarks for youngsters. The South African great also showered his praises and appreciations on the talented all-rounder. He wrote- “Been keeping an eye on Jofra Archer whilst playing for Sussex (tipped by Will Davis). Playing BBL, this kid is gana be special”.

6. Highest wicket-taker for Sussex

Jofra Archer shone with the ball for Sussex in the County season last year. He picked as many as 61 wickets in 24 innings at an impressive average of 25.29. He was the highest wicket-taker for his team and was hailed by his teammates for the same.

7. An impressive stint for the Hobart Hurricanes

Jofra Archer has also been in prime form in the ongoing Big Bash League. He is the highest wicket-taker for the Hobart Hurricanes with 15 wickets in 10 matches at a frugal economy of 7.50. He has also shown agility in the field in a couple of games. He took an extraordinary one-handed catch to dismiss Ben Cutting and then threw down the stumps from long-on.

8. Rocked the IPL auction

His all the impressive showings in the T20 league in Australia worked wonders for his fortunes when he went under the hammer in the IPL auction. Almost every franchise sought to have him in their side but Rajasthan Royals won the intense bidding war and picked him for Rs. 7.2 Crore.

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