Rajasthan Royals Still Hopeful Of Jofra Archer's Participation In IPL: Andrew McDonald

Rajasthan Royals head coach Andrew McDonald has said the franchise is still hopeful of having Jofra Archer for some part of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The England star has been ruled out of the tour of Sri Lanka and there are huge doubts over his participation in the IPL after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the right elbow.

The workload that he has coped with since making his international debut last May is finally taking a toll on the Barbados-born bowler. He has bowled more than 400 overs for his country since his debut. No other England player has bowled more than him in the entire calendar year.

Jofra Archer last played for England during the first Test against South Africa before he missed the next three Tests with the elbow issue. He later returned to London where a low-grade fracture was detected in his elbow once the swelling had gone down.

On Thursday, England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Jofra Archer would not travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests in March. The board also confirmed that he would not play in the IPL either. However, Andrew McDonald said that Rajasthan Royals have still not given up on their hopes.

The former Australian cricketer said that the team would await further updates before considering any replacement for their premier strike bowler. Jofra Archer has been an integral part of the team since joining them in 2018.

“It is a blow but these things always confront teams,” Andrew McDonald told ESPNcricinfo. “These are the setbacks that you have to contend with. First and foremost, our thoughts are with Jofra. Getting an elbow injury when you are at the top of your game is far from ideal, but watching him from afar it’s been great to see what he’s been able to achieve this year.

“We’ll see what happens. The ECB have been reasonably solid on ruling him out of the IPL, but we still hold out some hope that he may recover. We’ll get those details over the next 24-48 hours as to the extent of the injury, and we’ll work with the ECB as to what that may or may not look like.

“I’m sure he’s keen [to play in the IPL]. He loves playing for Rajasthan, but injuries happen, and until more details come to light, we will always hold out hope for a player of that quality. It doesn’t look good at the moment, but we won’t be in any rush to replace him at this moment in time,” he added.

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