RR Bowling Coach Shane Bond Hails Jofra Archer's New Ball Role as Game-Changer

Shane Bond, the fast bowling coach and assistant for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), claims that his team has really benefited from Jofra Archer's introduction of the new ball. After a terrible first game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Archer has made a spectacular return in the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025).

In the IPL 2025 mega-auction, the Royals paid INR 12.50 crore to sign the England seamer. After five years, he rejoined the franchise. However, in Rajasthan's season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Uppal, Archer finished with figures of 0/76 in four overs. These bowling numbers ended up being the worst in the league's history. Without taking a wicket, Archer let up 33 runs in 2.3 overs in the second match against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Both games were lost by the Royals.

RR Bowling Coach Shane Bond gets candid:

In a press conference, Bond said, “What Jofra Archer has gone about is just training with real focus and intensity. His training has been outstanding. And really, what he's done from the last couple of games is just transferred his training into the game. He's prepared well in terms of the plans off the field, trained really well, and then just gone out there and executed. And when he does, he's one of the best in the world. We also recognise that giving him the new ball has made a big difference for us. We've put runs on the board, and people have found it hard against him with the new ball that's moving around with his pace and his bounce. So, I think him leading our attack has given the rest of the bowling group a lot of confidence. I know he's got a lot of confidence."

However, in the last two games, Rajasthan's decision to support their star speedster has paid off. Archer's final scores against the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings were 1/13 from three overs and 3/25 from four overs, respectively. Sanju Samson and company won consecutive games because of his outstanding bowling exploits.

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