Jofra Archer thought he won't get any game after being picked by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018 auction

England cricketer Jofra Archer is currently rated as one of the quickest fast bowlers in international cricket. He has done exceedingly well playing for his national side. Also, he holds a fat contract with Rajasthan Royals (RR) as the franchise had picked him for a whopping amount of Rs 7.2 crore. Recently, he revealed how he felt after the IPL 2018 auction stating that it was an exciting time for him.

The 25-year-old made his international debut back in 2019 for England. And since then, he has established himself as their strike bowler across all the formats. He is quite a demanded player in franchise cricket across the globe. His lethal bouncers and toe-crushing yorkers at a speed of and around 145 km/hr always make it difficult for any opposition batsman.

Jofra Archer praises RR’s strategy in IPL

During an interaction with RR’s spin consultant in the Royals Podcast, Jofra Archer revealed that he was very excited in 2018 IPL auction as his name was also there in the list of players. The 25-year-old said that he along with D’Arcy Short, Ben McDermott went back early after playing for Hobart Hurricanes in a BBL match.

He added that all the aforementioned players along with him watched auction together. He also recalled that he had two phones at that time, one connected to Chris Jordan and the other one to his parents. Rather the Barbados born player felt that he won’t get to play even a single game in the IPL as he didn’t have international experience then. He ended up playing 10 matches in his maiden season and scalped 15 wickets.

“I had two phones at the time, one on the phone to CJ (Chris Jordan) and the other to my parents. Watched it but I remember before I told CJ that I probably won’t play a game because I haven’t played any international cricket. I told him I’ll probably get picked up at my base price and I’ll probably spend eight weeks in India and not play any cricket!,” Jofra Archer said.

According to England pacer, it was a great thing that he was picked by RR in the auction. Moreover, he praised the fact that the franchise is trying to continue with their core team going into his third year of the cash-rich league.

“But I was still grateful regardless, and then in the next few months, I ended up being in India. That’s where I met most of the guys, the squad hasn’t really changed going into the second year and the third year now, it has still been the majority of the same guys. I think that is a great thing that Rajasthan are doing, to keep the core of the team the same,” he added.