Rajasthan Royals' pace spearhead Jofra Archer ruled out of IPL 2020 with elbow injury

England's pace spearhead Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League owing to an elbow injury he sustained earlier during the test series against South Africa. The pacer has also been excluded from the team's tour of Sri Lanka later in March. Archer underwent further scans on his injured right elbow on Wednesday in the UK which confirmed a low-grade stress fracture. The right-arm fast bowler plays for Rajasthan Royals in the cash-rich Indian franchise cricket. 

Archer played only 1 Test throughout England's tour of SA

The England Cricket Board on Thursday confirmed that the pacer would miss out on IPL 2020 and the Sri Lanka tour as he would now commence an injury rehabilitation programme with the ECB medical team. The board also hinted that the pacer is expected to return in time for the three-match Test series against West Indies. Archer has been suffering from bone stress in the right elbow throughout the ongoing tour of South Africa, reducing him to a single appearance in the 3-1 Test series victory.

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After the visitors registered a comprehensive Test series win against the Proteas, England lost the opening game of the ODI series. Quinton de Kock marked his first game as South Africa's one-day captain with a century and a seven-wicket win over world champion England on Tuesday. The skipper was adjourned as the Player of the Match as he notched up a brilliant century and ended his innings at 107 off 113 as he fell to Joe Root's delivery. 

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Kevin Pietersen warns ECB

On a scarier note for English cricket, Kevin Pietersen warned the ECB regarding Archer's freedom of choice. Pietersen mentioned that if things get too much for him, Jofra Archer may quit playing cricket for England altogether and solely focus on franchise cricket. Pietersen wanted Jofra Archer's wishes to be prioritised and he suggested that the bowler should be allowed to make the choices that he wants to. According to Pietersen, even if Archer does not want to play Test cricket, he can still gift the country precious moments like when he helped his country lift its first Cricket World Cup in July 2019. 

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