Mumbai Indians pacer Jofra Archer is said to have travelled to Belgium, where he reportedly underwent minor surgery on his troublesome right elbow. The 28-year-old speedster has featured for Mumbai Indians only in two out of their seven games in the league stage of IPL 2023.
Archer was excepted to lead Mumbai Indian bowling attack in the absence of their star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Australia’s Jhye Richardson but could not play all the games for his side due to a right elbow injury. According to the report in Daily Telegraph, the England pacer had minor surgery before going back to India.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Archer had visited his specialist in Belgium. It is understood that, after assessment by the specialist, Archer underwent what sources describe as ‘a minor procedure’, before returning to India,” the report said.
England’s medical team has been working closely with the Mumbai Indians medical staff to keep him fit as he would have a vital role to play in the important Ashes 2023 and ODI World Cup later this year.
The 28-year-old made a comeback after a long lay-off in the SA20 tournament for MI Cape Town where he was rested in alternative matches and could not find his old rhythm back in the T20 cricket. Archer returned to the England ODI side against South Africa and Bangladesh where he played only 4 matches out of 6 matches.
According to reports, Jofra Archer is expected to play their next game against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday after missing out on the previous one against Gujarat Titans where the five-time champions were hammered to 55 run defeat at the famous Narendra Modi Stadium.
The five-champions would like to have Jofra Archer in the playing 11 as soon as possible, as their death bowling has been the cause of concern for their team conceding more than 14 runs an over in the last couple of games.
I Thought Jofra Archer Bowled Us Some Good Pace – Mark Boucher
Earlier, Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher was elated by Jofra Archer’s performance against the Punjab Kings as he bowled at a good pace and executed a few yorkers in the death overs trying to stop run flow in a true batting wicket.
“I thought Jof bowled us some good pace. He landed a couple of Yorkers. The wicket was good to bat on; thus, we knew it would be a tough night for our bowlers. For that, I think for his first outing, we’ll take it,” Mark Boucher said.
Though Archer was not his usual best against Punjab Kings, had a decent outing with the ball conceding 42 runs in his four overs picking an important wicket of Sam Curran after his heroics in Wankhede.