Rajasthan Royals (RR) and England fast bowler Jofra Archer will not travel to India for the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Friday.
Archer, 26, had earlier been ruled out of the early matches of the IPL due to an elbow injury. The ECB said in a statement on Friday that he has returned to bowling “with higher intensity” this week and it will assess his medical progress along with his county side Sussex.
“Archer will now step up his training regime starting next week and will be in full training with Sussex. It is expected that he will return to cricket in the next fortnight if he can continue to bowl and prepare pain-free. The ECB will confirm which matches he is expected to play in due course,” it said.
Archer thus becomes the second England player with RR to be ruled out for the season after all-rounder Ben Stokes returned to the country with a finger injury he sustained while fielding in RR’s first match of the season. In their absence, RR has struggled to get going and find themselves bottom of the table with three losses and one win in four matches.
