‘Jofra Archer fighting mental as well as physical battle’ - Zaheer Khan on pacer’s return to competitive cricket

Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has said that Jofra Archer is fighting both mental as well as physical battles. Notably, Archer marked his return to competitive cricket after remaining on the sidelines due to multiple injuries as he took field for MI Cape Town in the SA20 clash against the Paarl Royals.

The premier pacer did not waste much time in getting back to form as he claimed three wickets and made an impact on his comeback as his team won the curtain raiser by eight wickets. Meanwhile, Zaheer stated that a comeback after 541 days must have been "emotional" for Archer.

“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.

Meanwhile, the English pacer featured in the contest against Paarl Royals and seemed hungrier than ever to get the breakthroughs. Interestingly, it only took Archer three balls to claim his first wicket, and he eventually returned figures of 3/27 in his four overs. 

In 2021, Archer suffered a freak finger injury, a stress fracture on his lower back and underwent two elbow operations. Subsequently, the right-arm bowler underwent four operations in the span of 15 months to regain full fitness. Meanwhile, MI Cape Town play their next fixture against Durban Super Giants at Newlands in Cape Town on January 13.

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