Jofra Archer's participation in IPL 2021 depends on medical team's investigation, says Eoin Morgan

England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan has said Jofra Archer’s participation in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will depend on the medical staffs’ assessment. Last week, Archer returned home after the conclusion of the T20I series and is not a part of the ongoing three-match ODI series.

Jofra Archer has been sidelined after aggravating his elbow injury during the T20I series. The right-arm pacer played in all the five T20Is and bowled his maximum allocation of 20 overs while managing the painful right elbow throughout. Last month, he missed two of the four Tests as a result of the same issue. The ECB has already announced that Archer would miss the initial phase of IPL 2021.

Jofra Archer’s elbow has progressively gotten worse

Jofra Archer’s participation in the latter stage of the tournament will depend on ECB’s medical team. Speaking on the eve of the first ODI against India in Pune, Eoin Morgan said that Archer’s elbow ‘has progressively gotten worse.’ Morgan made it clear that Archer’s participation in IPL would depend completely on the medical team’s output.

“To be honest, I cannot give a medical opinion. We know the situation with his elbow, it has progressively gotten worse. We know that it needs investigation, only time will tell. He has given his heart and soul to us since he has been involved so we will give him full attention in order to try and bring the best result possible,” said Morgan during a virtual press conference on Monday.

“It all depends on the outcome of the investigation that the medical team will do (Archer’s return to India for IPL). They will determine the best rehabilitation program coming back and we will go from there. We fully trust our medical team, they have outstanding regarding player welfare and player rehabilitation. The trust is always there,” he added.

Jofra Archer is a part of the Rajasthan Royals camp for IPL 2021. Missing him will be a huge blow for the Royals who are searching for their first IPL title since 2008. Archer has been an integral part of the team since joining them in 2018. He was adjudged the MVP of IPL 2021 after picking up 20 wickets at 18.25 while conceding 6.55 runs per over. He had also hit ten sixes, scoring 113 runs at a strike-rate of 179.36.