Rajasthan pacer Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the Indian T20 League as he continues the rehabilitation of his finger surgery and a long-standing elbow injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed it on Friday.
In January, the 26-year-old express bowler injured his right hand while cleaning a fish tank at home in January and travelled for England's tour of India. Archer featured in two of the four Tests and the five-game T20I series before flying back home in March to undergo treatment. Over the course of the T20I series, the Englishman aggravated his elbow problem and thus took cortisone injections as part of his rehab.
As per reports, the 26-year-old World Cup Winner has been recovering well and is expected to full training with Sussex next week.
Team Rajasthan director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara stated that this call more precautionary as they didn’t want to risk Archer in a year when both the T20 World Cup and the Ashes will take place.
“His value to world cricket and England cricket is always part of our decision-making process, and we are always guided by the experts in English cricket who look after Jofra to guide us on how we could support that journey,” Kumar Sangakkara had said.
“It’s not something we look at selfishly in terms of playing [in the Indian T20 League]. We understand the value of Jofra, and we take a holistic view of how important Jofra is not just to our cause but to England cricket and world cricket as well.”
Archer was instrumental in Rajasthan’s campaign last season, where the fast bowler took 20 wickets in 14 matches at a strike rate of 16.70.
This is the second huge injury Rajasthan has dealt with after English star Ben Stokes was ruled out of the season with a broken hand. Rajasthan are currently at the bottom of the points table with two points from four matches.
Feature Image: AFP/ Money Sharma
