'Fingers crossed' - Jofra Archer on his chances of playing in IPL 2020

England all-rounder Jofra Archer has not given up on his hopes of playing for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). There are big question marks over his participation in the competition because of an elbow injury that has also ruled him out of this month’s Test series in Sri Lanka.

Archer suffered the injury after the first Test against South Africa in December. At first, it looked like he would recover in time to play in the four-match series before scans revealed that the injury was serious. After the scans last month, the England Cricket Board (ECB) had announced that Archer would not be taking part in the 13th edition of IPL.

However, Archer is still hopeful of plying his trade for the Rajasthan-based franchise. He recently put pen to paper as he signed a contract extension with Sussex till the end of 2022 season. When quizzed about his availability for the IPL, Archer revealed he has to undergo further scans. At the same time, he stated that he has kept his fingers crossed over his chances of playing in the competition.

“You never know, fingers crossed,” Archer said in a video uploaded on Sussex’s social media handle. “I’ll probably have some more information when I get it re-scanned. It could be a bit longer, I might have to wait, it could be a bit shorter.”

“The elbow is fine, I haven’t felt it for the last few weeks now so I think it’s making good progress. I’m not targeting anything. I’ve played a lot of cricket so I don’t think I’ll forget how to play cricket even if I don’t do anything for the next couple of months,” he added.

Nice to take a break: Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer might be missing the action on the field but the Barbados-born star is enjoying the break. The World Cup-winner played non-stop cricket for England since making his international debut last month before suffering the elbow injury.

“It’s actually nice to just take a break. I’m not happy that it’s come at this time but I’m also grateful that I’m getting the chance to relax and take a step back for a bit,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals will be hoping that Archer recovers in time for the upcoming edition. The pacer is an integral part of the team. So far, he has featured in two editions of the IPL for Rajasthan Royals, since getting snapped by them for Rs 7.2 Cr in 2018 player auction. In 21 matches, he has picked up 26 wickets at an economy rate of 7.52.