Jofra Archer was a huge name missing from the list of finalized players for the IPL 2025 mega auction. The IPL 2025 mega-auction is slated to be held on November 24-25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. And the absence of one of the most exciting pacers in the world raised a few eyebrows.
A total of 574 players are set to go under the hammer in the mega auction of the Indian Premier League 2025. Out of these, 366 Indian players feature in the list while 208 overseas players will participate in the auction. The 10 teams have a total of 204 slots to fill, with 70 of them for overseas players.
The noticeable absence was Jofra Archer, who has played in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals. His exclusion startled many fans. This was due to the fast bowler’s full recovery from his protracted injury and the kind of impact he has had on cricket worldwide.
Jofra Archer asked by the ECB to not enter the IPL 2025 mega-auction
Overall, in the 40 games in the Indian Premier League, he had picked 48 wickets with the best of 3/15. However, as per Cricbuzz reports, the fast bowler made himself unavailable as he wants to focus on his Test return, having returned from injury only in white-ball cricket.
Jofra Archer’s ailments have caused him to miss a lot of activity. However, the bowler has now fully recovered and is contributing to the team’s success in white-ball cricket. With an important Test series approaching, his return to red-ball cricket will be a huge boost for the England National Cricket Team in the future.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), according to the reports, wants Archer to remain healthy for next summer’s Test matches. As they play India in the five-match Test series, the Ben Stokes-led team will have a busy home Test season.
The series opener between the teams is scheduled to take place in Leeds from June 20, and the next four matches will be played in Birmingham (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Manchester (July 23-27), and The Oval (July 31-August 4).
Jofra Archer in IPL
Jofra Archer was a key component of the Rajasthan Royals and had a fantastic IPL debut. However, his injury problems hampered what could’ve been a brilliant career. Before joining the Mumbai Indians, he spent a few years playing for the Team. Before being released prior to the IPL 2024 auction, he participated in a couple of IPL 2023 games.
With a best of 3/15, he had taken 48 wickets overall in the 40 Indian Premier League games. Since making his international debut on May 3, 2019, in an ODI match against Ireland in Dublin, he has so far participated in 13 Test matches, 27 ODIs, and 28 T20Is for England.
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