IPL 2021 | It was a hard decision to not go to India for the IPL, admits Jofra Archer

Following a disastrous Test tour against India, Jofra Archer had suffered another bout of injury in the T20Is, which ruled him out of the ODI series that followed. Later, it was discovered that the pace bowler needed an operation, which then ruled him out of the entire season of the IPL, where he was supposed to represent the Rajasthan Royals. 

However, Jofra Archer admitted that it was a hard decision for him to not go to India, for the IPL. In his absence, the franchise had opted to play Mustafizur Rahman as their foreign pacer. The franchise were also hurt by the absence of Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone, with the former suffering an injury and the latter returning home due to bubble fatigue. 

"It was a hard decision not to go to India, it was really unpredictable, I could have gone but I don't know how many games I would have played," said Archer on Sussex Cricket YouTube channel. 

Archer also stated that if the IPL gets rescheduled again this year, he hopes to go to the tournament.

"If I did go to India, I probably would have come home early anyway. Hopefully, if it (IPL) does get rescheduled for this year, I will be able to go again Rajasthan Royals and England supported me in my decision. You obviously built a good relationship as I have been with the Royals for the last three years.”

Earlier this week, the pacer made his come back with Sussex, where he picked up two crucial wickets in the first innings, removing Zak Crawley and opposition skipper Bell Drummond. 

"My fitness is fine. I thought I bowled okay. I played in the (Sussex) second team last week and it's good to get some confidence and I felt fine," a pleased Archer said. 

"I bowled in short spells for protection in case we had a long day but it was overcast, which helped a bit. There was a bit of management, but it all worked out," he added.