“Jofra Archer waging both a physical and mental battle” – Zaheer Khan on the pacer’s comeback to international cricket

According to former India pacer Zaheer Khan, Jofra Archer is battling both physical and emotional obstacles. Notably, Archer played for MI Cape Town against the Paarl Royals in the SA20 match, making his comeback to competitive cricket after missing time with several ailments. The top pacer wasted little time in regaining his form, taking three wickets and having an effect as his team won the curtain-raiser by eight wickets. Zaheer added that Archer’s return after 541 days must have been “emotional.”

“It has to be an emotional one for him as well. When you are playing after so long, pretty much your career is under scrutiny, how you are going to come back. You have to put in a whole lot of hard work, you need to be very patient as well,” the former India pacer told Sports 18.

“So, it is not just the physical battle which he must be fighting, it is mental battle as well. It’s not easy for anyone to be away from the game for that long. Injury is something that is not in your hands, but how you manage yourself it takes a lot of energy,” he added.

The English pacer, who played against Paarl Royals, seems more eager than ever to make breakthroughs. Interestingly, Archer only needed three balls to get his first wicket, and in his four overs, he finished with a 3/27 strike rate. In 2021, Archer had two elbow procedures, a stress fracture in his lower back, and a strange accident to his finger. The right-arm bowler then required four operations over the course of 15 months to get back to full health. The following match for MI Cape Town will take place on January 13 at Newlands in Cape Town versus the Durban Super Giants.