Jofra Archer likely to miss entire India series, IPL second-leg participation also doubtful

Ahead of the first Test against India in Nottingham on August 4, England faced a huge crisis when Ben Stokes announced he would rest this series due to excessive mental health issues. Chris Woakes is already out of the first two Tests. There was a bit of hope that Jofra Archer would return alongside Woakes after the second Test, but that seems unlikely now. 

He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right elbow during the South Africa tour in 2020. This injury forced him to miss some of the matches on the India tour earlier this year and further had ruled him out of the Indian Premier League. It was said that he will be back for the second leg, however, there seems to be a setback in his recovery process. 

For now, it seems Archer will miss all the five Test matches for England this summer. Incidentally, Archer featured in a T20 Blast match, after which he had said that he was a month away from full recovery. He also expected to feature in the inaugural edition of The Hundred for his team, Southern Brave. 

Archer’s IPL participation in doubt as well

The injury of Archer and his delay in recovering is a huge blow for the English team this summer. It will also be a major blow for the Rajasthan Royals side, who have the pacer as one of their main overseas stars. Having missed the first phase due to the injury, Archer was expected to make a comeback in the second phase. 

Archer’s continuous failure to get fit and subsequent operation recovery has now put his entire year at a risk. For the England team, this year was going to be an important one as they have the T20 World Cup and the Ashes in Australia later this year. Archer would have been England’s main bowler in those two assignments and with his injury lingering, there is no surety as of now whether he will be available for these major events. 

For now, England’s chances against India at home have been reduced by a margin, given that players like Woakes, Stokes, and Archer, who are all capable of providing balance to the side have been ruled out. England still has James Anderson, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, and Sam Curran, but would definitely miss the services of their three important players.