New Delhi: Struggling with fitness, England pacer Jofra Archer was on Tuesday ruled out of the IPL, forcing Mumbai Indians to name fast bowler Chris Jordan as his replacement for the remainder of the T20 event.
Archer, who was picked by five-time champions MI for Rs 8 crore in the auction, has played just five games this season and taken two wickets. He has been out of international cricket for close to two years due to a back injury and didn’t feature in IPL last year.
Archer’s recovery and fitness will be monitored by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as he returns home to focus on his rehabilitation.
“Archer has been recovering from right elbow surgery. However, pushing through the discomfort whilst recently playing, hoping it will settle, has proven challenging,” ECB said in a statement.
“Therefore, it has been agreed for him to return to the UK for a period of rest and rehabilitation to give him the best opportunity for a full recovery.” His replacement, Jordan, made his IPL debut in 2016. He has so far played 28 IPL matches and has 27 wickets against his name. He has played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings in the past.
The 34-year-old, who has represented England in 87 T20Is and has taken 96 wickets, had joined the MI camp in April end.
Jordan batted for close to an hour in the nets on Monday.
Jordan joins MI for Rs 2 crore. Interestingly, he had gone unsold at the auction that was held in December last year. PTI ATK AM.
