IPL 2021: Losing Archer a big blow for Rajasthan Royals- Sangakkara
Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara was confident that the team's young Indian fast bowlers will rise to the challenge this season.
Published : Apr 11, 2021 15:09 IST
Star pacer Jofra Archer's absence because of injury will be a "big blow" to Rajasthan Royals but their new Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara was confident that the team's young Indian fast bowlers will rise to the challenge in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).
"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 to have him is unfortunately the reality of it. We have to work around it and plan contingencies," Sangakkara told PTI during a virtual press conference on Sunday.
The former Sri Lankan captain was, however, hopeful that Archer would be available at some point and "play his part in the IPL."
The unpredictability factor in Royals' bowling
The weak link for Royals, over the years, has been their Indian pace attack where the most experienced name Jaydev Unadkat hasn't exactly set the stage on fire. This year, apart from him, it has Chetan Sakariya and Kartik Tyagi.
"Inexperience can probably work for you and it could mean that opposition hasn't seen you either. Fast bowling in IPL is not an easy task and we saw that yesterday (Delhi Capitals vs Chennai Super Kings) as well," Sangakkara said.
"Most of the wickets are good for batting. So, you have to be quite skilful. 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," he stated.
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For Sangakkara, it was imperative that these youngsters were prepared to understand match situations and bowl accordingly.
"It's about keeping them focussed 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."
India prospects for Samson and Tewatia
The Royals skipper Sanju Samson has gone slightly off the radar as far as the national team is concerned, but Sangakkara believed that both the captain and Rahul Tewatia could be national team regulars if they can trust their abilities a bit more.
"Pressure is always there. Whether it is Sanju or Rahul, reality is they will tell you that expectations and pressures will always be there. Everyone has various coping mechanisms to deal with it, focus is to stay in the moment," he said.
"It is very important to have those grand ambitions of playing regular international cricket, and both Sanju and Rahul are very capable of not just being regulars but great, outstanding performers at the international stage."