England's Ben Stokes calls Jofra Archer the most 'naturally gifted' bowler he has seen

Sudhir Gupta 17:20 13/04/2019
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  • Jofra Archer had a great IPL. Image: Rajasthan Royals/Twitter.

    England all-rounder Ben Stokes has described his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Jofra Archer as the most ‘naturally gifted’ bowler he has ever seen.

    With the Barbados-born Archer likely to be fast-tracked into England’s squad for the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup, Stokes has given the express pacer his stamp of approval.

    Both the players are currently representing Rajasthan in the ongoing 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) where Archer has picked up seven wickets in as many matches so far.

    “Jofra makes any team better,” Stokes said about his potential future England team-mate in The Doosra podcast.

    “He is the most naturally gifted bowler I’ve seen and I don’t think he realises how good he is. Some of the things he can do at the click of a finger are just ‘wow’. It’s pretty special to watch.

    RR all-rounder Ben Stokes. Image - @IPL/Twitter.

    RR all-rounder Ben Stokes. Image – @IPL/Twitter.

    “You ask him to do something and he nails it straight away. To have somebody at the pace he bowls and the skills he has… the selectors are going to be scratching their heads and it’s a great time to be an England fan and an England player.”

    The last dates for participating teams to submit their final 15-man World Cup squads is April 23. No1 ranked England are expected to announce their squad on April 17.

    When asked if he sees Archer making the cut for the World Cup squad, Stokes replied, “It’s a tough question but it’s a great position to be in as an England team when you’ve got a player with the skill level Jofra’s got.”

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