Archer back in training but IPL stint uncertain

LONDON: England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been cleared to return to training, it was announced on Tuesday, after he had surgery to remove a fragment of glass from his finger last month.

But just how much of a part the Sussex quick will play in this year’s edition of the Indian Premier League remains uncertain.

Archer, 26, suffered the injury when he smashed a fish tank while trying to clean it.

He played two Tests and all five Twenty20s during England’s recent tour of India but was ruled out of the one-day series because of a problem with his right elbow.

Both those injuries led to Archer’s absence from the early stages of the IPL, where he is reigning most valuable player, and on an £800,000 ($1.1 million) contract with Rajasthan Royals.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said: “England and Sussex bowler Jofra Archer has been given the all-clear by his hand consultant to resume training after his right hand continues to heal following his operation on Monday, 29 March.”

It added: “A further update on his elbow injury will be provided once he has returned to bowling to assess the effectiveness of his recent injection. No decision has been made as yet on when Archer is due to return to playing.”

Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals’ director of cricket and a former Sri Lanka captain, said recently the franchise would not risk Archer’s fitness in a year where England will want him playing in both the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.