IPL 2018: 5 players who could replace Jofra Archer if unavailable

Jofra Archer, the all-Rounder from Barbados shot to fame with his impressive performance in the recently concluded Big Bash league. His BBL performance earned him a place in the Rajasthan Royals squad for the 2018 IPL.

Rajasthan Royals bought Archer for a whopping price of Rs 7.2 Crores in this year's auction. He recently suffered from a side strain in the Pakistan Super League and it isn't clear if he will be available for the IPL or not.

Rajasthan Royals may have to look at the following players to replace Archer if he is unavailable.

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#5 Marlon Samuels

Samuels big hitting ability would be handy for the Royals

Marlon Samuels played his first year in IPL with Pune Warriors in 2012 under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. He is a capable all-rounder who has tasted little success in IPL. He was banned from bowling in 2015 for a year, but now he plays as an all-rounder in all his T20 teams.

The West Indian batsman is ranked at number 4 in ICC's T20I all-rounders ranking. He is an extremely capable all-rounder who has played this role to perfection for the West Indies team.

Samuels has scored 4429 runs in 181 T20s across the globe at an impressive average of 33 and a strike rate of 118. He has also picked up 70 wickets at an average of 27 and an economy rate of 7.2. He can be a useful addition to Royals batting as well as he is a top order batsman.

#4 Angelo Mathews

Mathews is a genuine all-rounder option for the Royals

Angelo Mathews is the best all-rounder Sri Lanka has ever produced and is among the best in world cricket at present. He has an impressive record in T20s across the globe.

Mathews has scored 2377 runs in 150 matches at an average of 26 and a strike rate of 121. He has also scalped 79 wickets in 150 matches at an average of 32 and an economy of 7.4 and has four 3-Wicket hauls to his name.

The Sri Lankan all-rounder bats in the death overs and is known for his ability to hit big boundaries. He also bowls in the middle overs and is a partnership breaker. He is a fast bowling all-rounder and can perform the role which was assigned to Jofra Archer for the Royals.

#3 James Faulkner

Faulkner is a good death bowler

James Faulkner played his first match in IPL in 2011. He has played for four different teams in his IPL career and has tasted considerable success in the shortest format of the game. He has scalped 176 wickets in 160 matches at an average of 24.

The Australian all-rounder has three 5-wicket hauls and 18 3-wicket hauls in his T20 career. He has also scored 1567 runs at an average of 22. He has already played for the Royals and would be acquainted with the environment in the Rajasthan team.

Faulkner is a lower order batsman and bowls in the death overs for his teams. He plays a role which is very similar to Jofra Archer and would, therefore, be a like-for-like replacement for him

#2 Corey Anderson

Anderson is known for his big hitting

Corey Anderson is a batting all-rounder from New Zealand and has previous experience of playing in IPL. His main role in the team would be to bat in the middle order but he has the ability contribute with the ball as well.

The Kiwi all-rounder played his first season for the Mumbai Indians in 2014 and has also represented Delhi Daredevils in the 2017 season. He has scored 1768 runs in 100 matches at an average of 27. His IPL numbers are even more impressive as he averages 28 and has a strike rate of 130 with the highest score of 95 for the Mumbai Indians against Rajasthan.

Anderson would more than compensate for the loss of Archer with the bat but would not quite replace him with the ball. He would definitely bolster the batting of Rajasthan Royals if he was to be chosen.

#1 Moises Henriques

Henriques has had a successful stint with Sunrisers

Moises Henriques is a Portugal-born cricketer who plays for the Australian team. He is a regular member of the Australian T20 team and was also an important part of the title-winning Sunrisers in the 2016 season.

Henriques has scored 969 runs in 57 matches at an average of 29 in IPL. He has also picked up 32 wickets at an average of 32. He was particularly impressive in last year's IPL where he had scored 277 runs in 12 matches at a brilliant average of 46.

The Australian all-rounder is an extremely skilful batsman who bats brilliantly at number 3 and has the ability to adapt his game to the situation. He is a dependable batsman who will score runs consistently and would also be handy with the ball in the middle overs