Jasprit Bumrah, an outstanding fast bowler, was expected to miss the entire 16th season of the Indian Premier League, which put a lot of strain on the Mumbai Indians team’s pace bowling lineup. Jofra Archer, who has had a string of ailments lately, is expected to be available for the entire season, so they will be a little relieved.
He was signed by the team for INR 8 crore last year, but due to repeated ailments, he was unable to play in even one game. Archer’s availability has already been verified by the ECB and IPL officials, and it is rumoured that his national board will oversee his workload going forward.
“He should be able to play a full part in the IPL and as always his franchisee and the ECB will manage his workload,” an ECB source told Cricbuzz while an IPL official added, “Jofra is very much available, have you not seen him in action in the Dhaka ODI.” Remarkably, Archer missed over 18 months of professional cricket and didn’t return until he was playing for MI Cape Town in the SA20 league.
On March 1 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, Archer was a member of the England team that faced Bangladesh. With the ball, the pacer displayed excellent skill as he concluded with 2/37 in his ten overs. He and England bowled quite well, limiting Bangladesh just 209 runs.
Archer is anticipated to join the MI camp for training soon after the Bangladesh series in preparation for his return to the IPL. On April 2, the five-time champions will play Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chinnaswamy Stadium in their opening matchup of the year.