Jofra Archer

He made his mark quickly there. His first full season, 2017, brought 61 County Championship wickets at an average of 25.29. That same year he turned out for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, drawing attention from around the world, IPL teams included. Rajasthan Royals bought him for INR 7.2 crore at the 2018 auction, and he repaid them with 15 wickets from 10 games in his first season.

When the ECB cut its residency requirement from seven years to three in the months before the 2019 World Cup, Archer became eligible. He debuted in ODIs against Ireland in May 2019 and was then preferred to other contenders for the tournament squad. England won the trophy for the first time, with Archer their top wicket-taker. Later that year he played his first Test at Lord's in the Ashes, where a fierce spell against Steve Smith ended with a bouncer striking the batter's helmet and leaving him concussed. Archer claimed 22 wickets in the series at 20.27, though the 2-2 result meant Australia kept the urn.

Injuries then took over. A stress fracture in his right elbow cost him much of 2020, including the IPL, and two operations followed in 2021, ruling him out of that Ashes and the T20 World Cup in the UAE. A lower-back stress fracture wrecked plans for 2022 and another T20 World Cup. He returned in 2023 for an ODI series against South Africa, but the elbow problem came back, cutting short his IPL and keeping him out of the Ashes and the ODI World Cup.

Archer was back playing in 2024, featuring at the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA. With his workload handled carefully in white-ball cricket, he played ODIs against Australia, toured the West Indies in late 2024 and India in early 2025. Rajasthan Royals signed him again at the IPL 2025 auction for INR 12.5 crore.