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Earlier this year, Archer left India a week into the IPL to see an elbow specialist in Belgium, and had a minor operation after experiencing pain on his Mumbai Indians debut. He returned to play four further games before going home, when he was diagnosed with a recurrence of a stress fracture by England’s medical staff.
Key said at the time that England would review “every single thing we’ve done” in Archer’s rehab, having mapped out in detail a recovery programme in conjunction with Mumbai Indians’ medical staff, which included appearances for MI Cape Town in the SA20. As he attempts yet another comeback, the ECB has opted to take as much control over Archer as possible.
At this stage, England are hopeful that Archer could be part of their squad for the T20 World Cup in June 2024 and are planning accordingly. “We take that bet with him that we want him back fit and able to play for England, because of the upside,” Key said last month. “You start looking at things like the Ashes in two years, the T20 World Cup… Jofra adds so much to that.”
The only first-team cricket available to him in the first two months of the English season will be in the County Championship, since the T20 Blast does not start until May 30. England will play four T20Is at home against Pakistan from May 22 to 30, while Archer could also feature in the 2nd XI county T20 competition, which starts in mid-May if he needs to prove his fitness.
Archer was initially bought by Mumbai Indians for INR 8 crore (£800,000 approx.) ahead of IPL 2022 despite the franchise knowing that a back injury would rule him out of the entire season. But he was released from his contract last week as franchises finalised their retentions for next year.
He was retained by Mumbai Indians’ affiliate franchise MI Cape Town as a ‘wildcard’ player for the second season of the SA20 in early 2024 but his participation in that tournament will depend on how his rehab progresses. He is due to train with England’s white-ball squads in Barbados next week, but will not feature in either the ODI or the T20I series against West Indies.
Given Archer’s injury troubles over the last three years, England will take a cautious approach with him. “You don’t want to risk rushing something to see that kibosh the rest of his career,” Key said at the end of England’s World Cup campaign.
Eight England players – Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Mark Wood, Will Jacks and Reece Topley – were retained by their IPL franchises ahead of the upcoming auction, while Ben Stokes and Joe Root have both opted out.
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