Jofra Archer And…? 3 RR Players With A Point To Prove In IPL 2025

Bhargav Dixit

Jofra Archer will play for Rajasthan Royals after five years. [Source: @rajasthanroyals/X]Jofra Archer will play for Rajasthan Royals after five years. [Source: @rajasthanroyals/X]

Story continues below ADVERTISEMENT

Other than unmatched financial perks, an Indian Premier League season also brings with it ample opportunities for players to prove their mettle. Be it established international stars or uncapped rookie names; there’s something for everyone in the biggest T20 competition across the globe.

Come IPL 2025, multiple players across several franchises will be desirous of leaving a mark to benefit themselves individually. While Rajasthan Royals, as a whole, would want to win the championship for the first time since 2008, their below mentioned players would want to undergo a stellar season individually.

3. Jofra Archer

Since returning to international cricket before ICC T20 World Cup 2024, England pacer Jofra Archer has featured in the shortest format regularly to pick 23 wickets at an average of 24.26, an economy rate of 8.24 and a strike rate of 17.6.

For bowlers who have bowled more than 50 overs in this period, Archer’s economy rate is among the highest. As a matter of fact, it is one of the reasons behind England’s economy rate of 8.51 – highest among all Full Member Nations in this period.

Taking into consideration the fact that his strike rate is also on the higher side, Archer will have to find a way to restrict the flow of runs. Another significant challenge for the 29-year-old injury-prone bowler would be to play throughout the season without getting injured.

Dhruv Jurel

One of the six players retained by Royals before IPL 2025 auction, India wicket-keeper batter Dhruv Jurel’s retention has primarily happened on potential and reputation. Had he been released; a price tag of INR 14 crore wasn’t a guarantee.

With captain Sanju Samson set to share wicket-keeping duties alongside Jurel, he has already received the additional responsibility. For now, scoring 347 runs at an average and strike rate of 23.13 and 151.52 across 22 IPL innings is underwhelming. So is a T20 average and strike rate of 19.60 and 131.87 respectively across 33 innings. If Jurel is to add to his four T20I appearances, he will have to better his numbers as a batter.

1. Nitish Rana

From retaliatory celebrations to engaging in conflicts with players a decade junior to him, India batter Nitish Rana hasn’t been in the news for the right reasons lately.

What makes this all the more unfortunate is the dwindling number of runs against his name in both the IPL and domestic cricket. Fifth-highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy since his debut, the left-handed batter’s average of 22.42 is the fourth-lowest among the 97 batters with at least 250 runs.

For someone who has represented India thrice and led an IPL team throughout a season, Rana is expected to do much better especially with the amount of talent he once put on display.

15th on the list of highest IPL run-scorers since his debut in spite of not playing a handful of matches across two seasons, Rana’s potential is not difficult to assess. Most likely to be given the No. 3 role at Rajasthan, a franchise he was expected to attract interest from, he would want to start afresh at this third franchise to be in the news for reasons that a capable batter should be.