IPL 2020 | Happy to be retired and talking than facing Jofra Archer, says Virender SehwagÂ
Archer took two wickets against SRH
|@ IPL T20
RR pacer Jofra Archer continued to impress with his performances in the IPL, which made the former Indian opener Virender Sehwag say that he is better off talking about Jofra than facing him on the 22 yards. Archer has been delivering rockets in the 2020 IPL and has been the X-factor for RR.
With 15 wickets in 11 games, and an economy rate of 6.61, Jofra Archer has bowled like a dream in the 2020 IPL, where he has emerged as one of the best bowlers. He is the third leading wicket-taker in the tournament only behind Rabada and Shami but when it comes to economy rate, no one matches him on that front in the list of top five wicket-takers this season, so far. Archer has been phenomenal with his express pace and accuracy in the powerplay overs and then his variations and impeccable yorkers come into play in the death overs. Â
Archer was again at his best in the encounter against Sunrsiers Hyderabad as he sent back David Warner and Jonny Bairstow early and reduced SRH to 16 for 2 before Pandey and Shankar did the rescue act. Archer had castled his countryman Bairstow with a peach of a delivery while he had his bunny Warner yet again, this time, he nicked him off to the second slip, where Ben Stokes took a wonderful catch.Â
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag was a little upset with Warner's inability to play out Jofra Archer given he could have taken on the other RR bowlers had he even faced a maiden over from Archer upfront. He also termed Jofra a 'class bowler' and also credited RR skipper Steven Smith for having two slips, which enabled Warner's dismissal.
"I am a little upset with David Warner, he also knew that there was only one threatening bowler in Rajasthan and that was Jofra, so he should have played him out. But then Archer's class is different, he made play the ball and there wasn't much Warner could have dthatone. Must say, the credit also goes to Smith for having two slips. There aren't many adjectives left to praise Archer as he has been such a revelation with the ball," Sehwag said in a video on Cricbuzz.Â
Sehwag, who never feared anyone and smashed bowlers like Dale Steyn, Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar, stated he's happy retired and talking about a bowler like Jofra than facing him in the middle. He also added that it's not just pace but the accuracy that makes Archer so difficult for batsmen.Â
"It's not just because of the pace that Jofra Archer has been so successful and getting wickets. Even Kartik Tyagi is bowling in 140s. But it's the ability to bowl great line and lengths that makes Archer such a good bowler. He forces batsmen into making mistakes all the time. If there is even a slight gap between the bat and ball, he castles the stumps, if the batter is late to play the ball, then he nicks him off. So I am quite sure he will be the most valuable player given how he has bowled thus far. I am happy to be retired and talking than facing Jofra Archer in the middle."Â
