England cricketer Jofra Archer (Credit: Twitter)
Jofra Archer seems to be in good touch with the ball and managed to uproot the off-stump during a practice game in a pre-season camp in Karnataka.
Some new developments are brewing around England pacer Jofra Archer with him being connected to a potential Indian Premier League (IPL) return. The English speedster recently travelled to Bengaluru but not for the IPL 2024.
He is representing the Sussex Cricket Club in their pre-season tour before the County Championship commences in April. As per the local media reports, claimed by Hindustan Times, Sussex had requested a few warm-up games with Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the upcoming T20 extravaganza but a tight schedule prevented the matches from happening. Given that Archer had already opted out of the upcoming edition of IPL and the T20 World Cup is right around the corner, a return to the domestic T20 tournament seems highly unlikely for the English speedster.
In their ongoing visit to India, Jofra Archer decided to turn up for the Karnataka State Association XI team to help his side, Sussex, practice. In a few videos shared by Sussex on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Archer can be seen dismissing his teammates in the warm-up match. In one of the clips, the English pacer could be seen uprooting the off-stump, suggesting that he was gradually returning to full fitness.
Jofra Archer has not competed in professional cricket since May 2023. His absence from competitive cricket was due to an elbow stress fracture which he suffered in the IPL while playing for Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai-based franchise roped in Archer at the IPL 2022 mega auction but the player remained absent in the entire first season. He played just four matches the following year before heading home with the said elbow injury.
The ODI World Cup saw Jofra Archer travel to India along with the England squad as a reserve. The decision was made based on the ECB’s medical reports. Previously, Archer practised in the nets at The Oval before the English squad’s bilateral series against New Zealand in mid-September last year. He then joined his team a month later in Mumbai for the marquee tournament.
After two light training sessions, Archer’s injury resurfaced leading him to leave for home before the tournament even began. He was further ruled out of England’s bilateral series against the West Indies that followed after the ODI World Cup.
Mumbai Indians released Jofra Archer ahead of this year’s auction after the ECB decided to balance out the speedster’s workload. He did not even send his name for the auction to maintain his fitness for the T20 World Cup that is to be played in the United States and the West Indies in June this year.
