Jofra Archer ruled out of PSL
What's the story
Pacer Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the Pakistan Super League owing to a side strain. Archer was in the squad for the Quetta Gladiators and took 5 wickets at an average of 10.60 and at an economy rate of 6.62.
Australian pacer Ben Laughlin has been named as his replacement and has already arrived in Dubai. It isn’t certain how long Archer will take to recover and his availability for the upcoming IPL is unknown for the time being.
In case you did not know
The 22-year old Archer gained recognition after being sold to Rajasthan Royals during the IPL auction for a whopping Rs. 7.2 crore.
The heart of the matter
The Barbadian-born bowler, who has played for the West Indies U19s, began his PSL pretty well by taking 2/30 and 3/23 in his first two matches against Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars. He was then rested for the next two matches against Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi.
By this time, Ben Laughlin was already named as a cover. He has joined the squad and could possibly against Multan Sultans today.
What’s next?
With Archer ruled out of the tournament, third placed Quetta Gladiators have been dealt with a huge blow. However, their prime concern at this moment will be their match against second-placed Multan Sultans at Sharjah, which will commence in a few hours.
Author's take
Given how he started the tournament, Quetta Gladiators will definitely miss the services of Archer for the remainder of PSL. Nevertheless, Archer would be hoping to recover in time so that he can play for the Rajasthan Royals during the IPL