England are hoping for Jofra Archer’s return for the T20 World Cup later this year. The fast bowler is currently rehabilitating after the recurrence of his long-standing elbow injury and has not played any professional cricket since May last year. He did train with the England white-ball team on their tour of the Caribbean in December.
England’s director of cricket Rob Key is hopeful of Archer’s return for the showpiece event in the Caribbean as the ECB is ‘building him up’ slowly for the same.
“Our plan is the T20 World Cup, building him up slowly,” Key was quoted as saying on the BBC’s ‘Tailenders Podcast’.
“I saw him bowl in the Caribbean and it was like he’d never been away. I don’t want to get back to this thing where he plays and then goes down again. He (Archer) wanted to play in the IPL, but we said not this time. Hopefully, the years he has missed he can add to the end of his career. He is such a talent,” Key said.
Archer has been plagued by injuries for the last three years. He made a comeback in white-ball cricket, playing three T20Is and four ODIs in the first quarter of 2023. However, he suffered the recurrence of his right-arm elbow injury during IPL last year, which ruled him out of action once again.
When England were playing West Indies in Archer’s native Barbados at the end of last year, he did play for his former school side without the knowledge of the England hierarchy. he was also ruled out of the IPL this season with his franchise Mumbai Indians subsequently releasing him. He was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the last IPL and played a few games, though he looked far from his best while managing the elbow injury.
During his IPL stint, Archer also made a quick trip to Belgium for a minor surgery.
(With Agency Inputs)
Comments
0 comment