by India Today Sports Desk: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said on Tuesday 16 May that he was absolutely disappointed with jofra archer out in the English summer after a recurrence of a stress fracture in his elbow. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Archer, who recently joined the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, has been ruled out of the English summer, which also includes the much-anticipated Ashes series.
Jofra Archer had spent 17 months out of international cricket due to multiple injuries, which included elbow, back and a finger injury. He returned to international cricket only in January and played a few white-ball matches in South Africa before featuring in the SA20 with Mumbai Indians and the inaugural edition of IPL 2023.
Jofra Archer played 5 matches spread over a period of time and his season with Mumbai Indians came to an early end as he was ruled out due to injury in early May.
Kevin Pietersen acknowledged media reports in the UK which stated that Jofra Archer had been offered a contract by the owners of Mumbai Indians to play franchise cricket in their franchise in several T20 leagues including the IPL, SA20 and ILT20. Franchise cricket was said to be the way forward for Archer due to persistent injury concerns.
Pietersen said Archer needs to focus on managing his workload and international cricket is probably not the way forward for the 28-year-old, who has been one of the most injured bowlers since the 2019 World Cup.
Pietersen wrote in his blog for Betway, “I am disappointed for Jofra. Completely disappointed. I think this will probably end his journey with English cricket.”
“I know there is news around a franchisee contract, and it would be wisest for him now. Take six months to recover, pick a few tournaments to play, and bowl at the speed of light for a few months Do it. He’ll make good money and still have a career in the game.”
Test cricket has passed him by: Pietersen
Pietersen, who is part of the IPL broadcasting team in India, said that Archer should look to his future and try to get as much as possible out of franchise cricket while keeping himself fit in the years to come.
Archer, who was a part of the World Cup winning England team in 2019, has not played a Test match since 2019. He has played a total of 13 Tests, 21 ODIs and 15 T20 matches.
“I think the longer format of the game has abandoned him. I think English cricket has probably abandoned him. It’s not his own fault, he’s just injured. As much as he would love to play for England It’s his dream, it’s probably come true, said Pietersen, because I know.
“He should settle down now and make as much cash as he can in franchise cricket. But first get yourself fit,” he added.
ECB director of cricket Rob Key said he hoped Jofra would recover from his injury and return to winning games for England, leaving the door open for an international return.