With the T20 World Cup scheduled to begin on June 2, fans around the world will hope for some nail-biting cricket. As defending champions, England open their campaign on June 4, against Group B opponents Scotland. The England squad hasn’t been announced yet and pace sensation Jofra Archer will be hoping to be included in Jos Buttler’s plans for the upcoming tournament.
Considered to be one of the fastest pacers in cricket history, Archer missed the entire 2022 English summer due to a back issue and was then sidelined due to a stress fracture on his elbow. He has been absent from Test and first-class cricket since 2021. He had surgery on April 23, which was also his fifth on his right elbow in two years.
Archer will be aiming to make into the England squad for the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan at the end of May, which could help him prove his fitness ahead of the T20 World Cup. Speaking on The Athlete’s Voice, Archer said, “I haven’t played cricket for a whole 12 months as yet.”
“Last year I played from January to May. I think the year before that, I played maybe one or two games for Sussex, so you know I’ve had a whole year of nothing.
Hinting at a possible retirement, he said, “It’s been a while and honestly, I don’t know if I’ve got another stop-start year in me. That’s the truth, I don’t know if I’ve got another one.”
“Come June 1 I really do want to be in the team. I really do want to be playing back at home, in front of my family and probably in front of… I know it’s not dog friendly in the Caribbean as much as it is here in the UK, but I’d love my family and my dogs at that first game back,” he further added.
Archer also didn’t participate at the IPL 2024 auction, as he is currently focussing on his recovery. Archer had briefly travelled to India for the World Cup but returned to the UK after less than a week due to elbow pain.
