Jofra Archer remains highly unlikely to play in this year’s Indian Premier League despite Mumbai shelling out £780,000 on the recuperating England fast bowler at last weekend’s auction.
The selection of the 26-year-old was based on him being available in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, with the ECB insistent that he will not join up with the Indians franchise for the tournament that starts next month and concludes in the first week of June.
However, one of the issues for England’s interim hierarchy of Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood is the route for Archer to return to competitive cricket following two elbow operations, the most recent of which took place in December.