IPL 2022 | Long-term injury of Jofra Archer forced Rajasthan Royals to not retain him, reveals Kumar Sangakkara

Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday announced their list of retained players ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The franchise retained their captain Sanju Samson, wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler, and swashbuckling opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for the 15th edition of the tournament. The Rajasthan-based franchise retained Samson for a whopping 14 crores, whereas Buttler will be paid 10 crores, and Jaiswal will draw a salary of 4 crores.

“We did everything to ascertain the nature of the injury, the recovery period. There hasn't been a phenomenon like Jofra Archer in any form of cricket, especially T20 cricket. We had to take a lot of factors into consideration while making the decision and would have ideally liked to have gone with four players but the uncertainty surrounding Jofra’s long-term injury forced us to retain only three,” in a video uploaded on the official Twitter handle of the franchise

Sangakkara reckoned that Stokes has been a brilliant all-rounder for the franchise in the past, but the team management have considered the number of retentions available and the player availability throughout the tournament. 

“Ben Stokes is the best all-rounder I have seen in a very long time. [He's] an absolute match-winner and he has shown that for Rajasthan Royals. Absolutely brilliant as a team man, brilliant in a leadership role. He just brings his amazing energy to the field. We had to consider the number of retentions possible. Player availability, in terms of how much of the tournament that a player is available for,” he explained.

“It’s extremely difficult. They are two of the best players in the world at the moment. And I know the players themselves understand our reasoning, even though they may be disappointed. I am sure they are, as we are as a franchise. All these dynamics come into play," elaborated Sangakkara.