England fast bowler Jofra Archer recently underwent surgery to remove a fragment of glass from his finger after dropping a fish tank while cleaning at his home in January. While that injury didn’t prevent him from touring India and bowling, however, he was ruled out playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2021.
Despite the finger injury, which was overshadowed by his already prevailing elbow issues, Jofra Archer continued to bowl with steam in the Test and T20I series against India. However, as he himself reveals, he wasn’t at his best and bowled with pain.
The 26-year-old battling with elbow pain, and the finger injury which later required operation on it, returned as England’s leading wicket-taker in the T20I series after being rested from a couple of Tests. He was ruled out of the ODI series, and then the IPL.
“It was my right elbow that was causing me problems in India, though, and that left me in a difficult position because I didn’t want to be missing matches — but I didn’t want to be playing in pain, either,” Jofra Archer wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
“There is nothing worse for a bowler than knowing you cannot give your all. If you try to, you can mess yourself up for the future, so you are torn between that and protecting your body. You simply cannot do both. With focus on the elbow, I didn’t care what was happening with my hand through the Test series. It was the least of my worries,” he added.
Seeing Rajasthan down the bottom of the table has been hard: Jofra Archer
The paceman is upset about missing out on the IPL 2021; he feels partly responsible for Rajasthan Royals’ disappointing campaign so far as the bowling plans revolved around him, and the speedster could not join.
After Archer, Ben Stokes was also ruled out of the tournament after the all-rounder sustained a finger injury in the Royals’ opening game. He has returned to nets, and is hoping to be part of the County Championship; if declared fit, Jofra Archer could make his return to international cricket in the home Test series versus New Zealand.
“It was tough not to go to the Indian Premier League. It had always been my intention to do so and watching from home, seeing Rajasthan down the bottom of the table, knowing that the results are partly my fault, has been hard.
“Getting the combinations right in a team is a huge part of Twenty20 cricket and I would have been part of those best XI combinations, along with Ben Stokes.
“I am not saying that I would have helped Rajasthan win the tournament, but I do feel a responsibility for where the season has gone so far.
“When you have been at a team for a long time and they make you feel comfortable, as the Royals have, it is natural to develop a loyalty and I so wanted to be out there giving my best,” the seamer stated.
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