Jofra Archer to consider retirement if injuries persist

Once deemed as the next big thing, Jofra Archer spent the majority of the last two years on the sidelines. He missed the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup, the Ashes, World Test Championship and multiple series and franchise-based tournaments in the last couple of years, which the pacer is now eyeing to play. However, the 29-year-old made it clear that if the injuries persist, he may consider an early retirement from the game.

In the last couple of years, Archer has dealt with back and elbow injuries but made his return in January 2023 but by May, he once again hurt himself and since then, Jofra hasn’t played any competitive match. He is likely to make his return to the England squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, but the cricketer is yet to earn a fitness certificate. 

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Speaking about his injuries, the ace pacer mentioned that he hasn’t played an entire season for a long time now and added that even if he misses out on T20 World Cup, he is hopeful to play in County, T20 Blast, The Hundred and tournaments that will follow. However, Archer made it clear that he won’t rush to get back on to the field

“I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet. Last year I played from January to May. I think the year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so you know I've had a whole year of nothing. It feels like that sometimes. It's been a while and honestly, I don't know if I've got another stop-start year in me. That's the truth, I don't know if I've got another one,” Archer was quoted as saying by Eurosport.

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“Worst-case scenario - I don't really want to think about this - but even if I don't make it to the World Cup for whatever reason, there's still the T20 Blast, there's still the Hundred. There's still cricket that I haven't got a chance to play in the last couple of years. So as much as I want to play in the World Cup, if it doesn't happen for whatever reason, at least I still know I could be somewhat active,” he added.

All the 20 participating teams will have to announce their provincial T20 World Cup squad by May 1, 2024. Keeping that in mind, Archer has less than two weeks to prove himself fit and earn his ticket for the mega tournament.