Archer said that he had just been done with a Big Bash League match for Hobart Hurricanes when his name came up in the auction
Jofra Archer
England fast bowler Jofra Archer said that he didn't think he would get to play a game in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) because he hadn't played international cricket before that. Archer was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 7.20 crore in the 2018 IPL Auctions in January 2018 and it would only be in May 2019 that he would make his international debut for England. Archer said that he had just been done with a Big Bash League match for Hobart Hurricanes when his name came up in the auction.
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"I was obviously excited! I had just got off the field two or three hours earlier, we (Hobart Hurricanes) had a game in Melbourne and had just beaten the (Melbourne) Stars," Archer told RR spin consultant Ish Sodhi on the Rajasthan Royals' podcast. "Myself, D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott & all the guys who were in the draft, we had mini vans that we got to take from the ground. All the guys in the auction took the first bus back and we watched it together.
"I had two phones at the time, one on the phone to CJ (Chris Jordan) and the other to my parents. I 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!
"When I saw the bidding start a few teams were going at it, and I was thinking ‘wow I'm actually going to get to go to India for sure', so I was even happier than when the bidding started because I knew for sure that at least I would get to be associated with a franchise." Archer said that he felt RR spent a bit more than he thought they should have.
"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 said.
Archer has since picked 26 wickets over the course of two seasons. He was however ruled out of the 2020 season of the IPL due to an elbow injury in February. Eventually, the season itself got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and he might very well be a part of the IPL if it goes ahead in the second half of the year.
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