Unanswered questions remain after Archer's belated auction entry

Archer has been signed in as an all-rounder for a base price of Rs 2 crore. © BCCI
The final auction register of 590 players has, undoubtedly, sprung a few surprises and English paceman Jofra Archer's belated entry is one amongst them. It raises questions because typically the franchises do not prefer spending big bucks on a player whose availability is unlikely for the season, something that the BCCI has itself stated in its official communique quoting the ECB.

The England pacer, whose name was missing from the initial 1214-player list, has been signed in as an all-rounder for a base price of Rs 2 crore (about 300,000 USD).

Rajasthan Royals' winning bid on Archer was Rs 7.2 crore (approximately USD 1 million) in the 2018 mega auction,and his reputation has only grown since, having bowled the famous World Cup-winning Super Over a year later in 2019. And while he will potentially trigger a bidding war yet again when available for a full season, this belated entry may actually see him underselling himself.

With the probability of being secured at his base price itself, on a two-year deal, the franchise may not be allowed a replacement in 2022 season - Archer's late inclusion comes with this rider - but would have potentially secure the services of a world-class pace spearhead at a bargain price for at least until the 2023 edition.

"ECB has registered Jofra Archer for the auction with a view to potential participation in 2023 and 2024, as due to his current injury it is unlikely that he can participate in IPL 2022," the BCCI's communication to the franchises said.

Archer will also not feature in the Marquee players segment for the same reasons. "Therefore, his name has been included in the auction list but he won't feature in the Marquee or other sets to be presented. He will be available to be called during the accelerated auction and whoever picks him will not get a replacement player for IPL 2022 season for his place as he is already injured and unlikely to participate in IPL 2022 season."

While the possibility of Archer announcing himself fit to play in IPL 2022 just ahead of the auctions seems bleak, a plausible reason for this U-turn could be the need to be in the mix for what's been reported in some sections of the media as the last possible mega-auction for the tournament. Cricbuzz's inquiries, however, have revealed that the BCCI has not yet categorically stated that there will be no auctions in future.

Queries to Archer's agents remained unanswered.

Incidentally, some of the record buys in the IPL, like Chris Morris (Rs 16.25 crore by RR in 2021), Ben Stokes (Rs 14.5 crore by Pune Supergiants in 2017) and Yuvraj Singh (Rs 16 crore by Delhi Daredevils in 2015), have come in the mini-auctions.