Jofra Archer eyeing international return with T20 World Cup

After a long battle with injuries, English pacer Jofra Archer is finally fit and is running in to bowl at an exceptional pace. The 29-year-old English paceman has been sidelined since 2019 due to a series of elbow and back issues. However, Archer's recent performances in training have made the talks about his potential return for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June.

Archer's county coach at Sussex, Paul Farbrace, has provided an update on the fiery fast bowler's progress. According to Farbrace, Archer has been bowling spells alongside England's Ollie Robinson and West Indies' Jayden Seales, bowling absolute rockets that have uprooted stumps.

“Last week in practice there was a spell where Oliver (Robinson) had bowled, Jayden bowled and then Jofra came into the middle and bowled and he came marching out and bowled exceptionally quick,” Farbrace was quoted as saying by The Telegraph. 

Also read: Jofra Archer breaks stumps in Sussex vs Karnataka pre-season camp clash

They’re getting him ready for the T20 World Cup: Paul Farbrace

Farbrace revealed the clear plan is to have Archer ready for the T20 World Cup in June this year. “At the moment the plan is very clear from (James) Keysy (Sussex’s bowling coach) that they’re getting him ready for the T20 World Cup,” he added.

Archer even joined Sussex on a pre-season tour to India, impressing Farbrace with his pace and batting abilities.

"All I can say is what I have seen, he came with us to India, and from what we’ve seen in pre-season so far, he’s bowling with exceptional pace, and he’s batting nicely. He was brilliant in India, and to have him on the trip was fantastic, he joined in and did everything as well as you could have expected and was an excellent role model around the team,” Farbrace said.

Also read: Jofra Archer's "behave" tweet resurfaces following Sanjay Manjrekar's cautionary message at the Wankhede

With Archer centrally contracted to the ECB, his workload will be closely managed by England's management after the T20 World Cup. However, fans will be expecting a fiery Archer return to international cricket. If Archer makes it to England's squad he will be a vital cog in them defending the title.