IPL 2023 Is Too Far Ahead To Think About Jofra Archer: Mahela Jayawardene
Jofra Archer has not played international cricket for more than a year. He has missed two consecutive IPL seasons because of injuries. Yet Mumbai Indians picked him in the auctions knowing that he would not be available for IPL 2022. Now as per the most recent development Archer is set to miss yet another summer of cricket.
Archer’s involvement in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) is “too far ahead” for the time being, according to Mumbai Indians (MI) head coach Mahela Jayawardene. After outstanding performances for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL and Sussex in the T20 Blast, the Barbados-born speedster was selected to play for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2018.
Our Experts Will Keep An Eye On His Fitness: Mahela Jayawardene
Archer also featured in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s Cricket Ground, bowling the Super Over in the final against New Zealand. Archer’s career has been plagued by injuries since March 2021, when he played the away series against India. The bowler just suffered a stress fracture in his lower back and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 season.
The support team of MI and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are keeping a tight eye on Archer’s progress, according to Jayawardene.
“Jofra’s availability for the next season is too far ahead at the moment. Our experts will keep an eye on his fitness along with those in the ECB. It is a new injury and not an old one, so hopefully, recovery should be quicker for him. We’ll see how he progresses from this injury,” Jayawardene was quoted as saying.
After a bidding war with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals in February, the five-time IPL champions purchased Archer for INR 8 crore (RR). In the 2020 edition of the IPL in the United Arab Emirates, Archer was named the Most Valuable Player.
In terms of MI, Rohit Sharma and company are at the bottom of the points standings and have already been eliminated from the T20 tournament.
