Jofra Archer likely to miss first half of IPL 2021

Fast bowler set to return to England post T20I series against India as Rajasthan Royals await formal update from ECB on his availability

Jofra Archer is set to miss at least the first half of IPL 2021 with Rajasthan Royals as the ECB has decided to send him back home to tend to a recurring elbow injury. ESPNcricinfo understands Archer will return to England and will not feature in the three-match ODI series against India to be played between March 23 and 29. The IPL is scheduled to start on April 9.

It is understood that on returning home Archer, who has an ECB central contract to play in all three formats, will receive another injection to his right elbow before being assessed by the ECB medical staff around mid-April, after which a call will be taken on whether he can return to the IPL. The injury had also kept him out of the second and fourth Test against India.

Although the Royals have not issued a public statement, it is understood they been updated about Archer’s availability. Archer was bought by the Royals in the 2018 auction for INR 7.2 crore ($986,000 approx.) and the fast bowler has justified the high price by consistently delivering some of the best spells of fast bowling in the tournament, finishing as the MVP in 2020 IPL. Although the Royals have not ruled out Archer returning for the second half of the tournament, it is understood the franchise is considering back-up plans – including finding a replacement – but are waiting for a formal communication from the ECB.

In addition to Archer, the overseas fast bowling contingent at the Royals includes Ben Stokes, Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman, Australia’s Andrew Tye and South African allrounder Chris Morris. Chris Morris was picked up by Royals for INR 16.25 crore ($2.226m approx) at the 2021 auction, making him the most expensive player in the history of the IPL.

Having missed the second Test in Chennai, Archer sat out the final Test in Ahmedabad as the elbow injury flared up, initially casting doubts over his availability for the five-match T20I series, which concludes on Saturday

Although Archer has played in all the five T20Is and bowled his quota of four overs every match, it is understood that the ECB want to preserve him for the long term. After the Test series defeat, England head coach Chris Silverwood conceded that Archer’s elbow injury was a concern. Although he ruled out surgery, Silverwood said that the ECB medical staff was “talking about how we deal with this [issue in the] long-term.”

Archer received a painkilling injection to the right elbow immediately after the first Test of the India series. In a media release, the ECB had pointed out that the injury was separate to the stress fracture he had suffered during the South Africa tour in January 2020 which had then ruled him out of the Sri Lanka tour and the IPL 2020, both of which had been postponed. England are particularly keen to manage Archer carefully with an eye on the T20 World Cup and the Ashes later this year, both of which are long-term priorities.

Archer pledged after the first T20I to “do everything in my power to make sure that I am going to the World Cup and the Ashes”, and said in an in-house interview on Friday: “Managing yourself is going to become more important than ever to make sure that you’re still fit or fully fit when that time comes”. England are yet to name their squad for the ODI series which starts on Tuesday, on March 23 in Pune, but have not flown any players out to India since the start of the T20Is. As a result, the ODI squad will be selected from the same group of 18 currently in India – the 16-man T20I squad, plus two reserves in Jake Ball and Matt Parkinson.