London: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has instructed Jofra Archer to skip next year's Indian Premier League (IPL) to manage the injury-prone pacer's workload in the run-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup, according to a report.
Archer, who was bought by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2022 IPL for a whopping INR 8 crore, was released by the franchise last week. His name doesn't figure in the list of players who have registered for the IPL auction, set to be held on December 19 in Dubai.
Archer, who has been plagued by multiple injuries, suffered a recurrence of his elbow stress fracture while playing for MI during the IPL in May. The 28-year-old Barbados-born cricketer hasn't played any professional cricket since then and also missed the ODI World Cup.
"... the ECB believes that it will be easier to manage Archer's comeback if he is in the UK in April and May under its supervision than if he is in India on the books of an IPL team looking to get their money's worth from him," 'ESPNCricinfo' reported.
As per the report, he has signed a new two-year contract with the ECB, and ahead of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States from June 4 next year, the board has "opted to take as much control over Archer as possible."
Archer had briefly traveled to India for the World Cup but returned to the UK after less than a week due to elbow pain. ECB is hopeful that the pace spearhead will be a part of England's squad for the T20 World Cup. "We take that bet with him that we want him back fit and able to play for England, because of the upside," former England opener and current managing director (men's cricket) Robert Key had said last month.
"You start looking at things like the Ashes in two years, the T20 World Cup Jofra adds so much to that," he had said back then. As many as 34 England players, including Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, and Chris Woakes, have registered for the IPL auction.
The likes of Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy, Mark Wood, Will Jacks, and Reece Topley have been retained by their franchise. Test skipper Ben Stokes, who is in rehab after undergoing surgery on his left knee, and Joe Root have both opted out of the cash-rich league.
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