Jofra Archer’s Comeback Saga: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced their 15-player provisional squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, which will be held in India beginning on October 5, as per ICC. The England team management has made a number of big calls with their initial squad for this year’s World Cup 2023.
While all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named in a group of 15 players, on the other hand, Harry Brook and star pacer Jofra Archer are notable exclusions from the squad.
No Place For Jofra Archer In ODI World Cup 2023 Provisional Squad
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Ben Stokes had reversed his decision to retire from ODI cricket and would return for next month’s four-match ODI series against New Zealand. The same was confirmed by the England selector Luke Wright by revealing the 15 members to take on the Kiwis, which is also the provisional World Cup squad.
Besides this, Wright also revealed that Jofra Archer would only be included in England’s World Cup plans as a traveling reserve.
But Jofra Can Make His Comeback In The 2nd Half Of The World Cup
Archer, who played a pivotal role as England’s leading wicket-taker and hero in the Super Over during their World Cup 2019 win, has been sidelined since the IPL due to an elbow stress fracture this year. Jofra Archer’s absence from England’s World Cup squad has been confirmed, with his inability to regain fitness in time being the key reason.
Speaking about Archer, Wright said:
“Our desire to have him back is strong, but we need to ensure his long-term health. Unfortunately, time is against us for this World Cup. Rushing him back for the beginning of the tournament would not be in his best interests.”
However, according to a report by the Telegraph, Jofra Archer could make his comeback in the 2nd half of the ODI World Cup 2023. Given the injury history of many of their key fast bowlers, England envisions Archer as a potential reinforcement for the latter stages of the marquee tournament.
About this, Wright said:
“I don’t think we can, unfortunately, have him in the squad to start with,” Wright said. “Best-case scenario for Jof really at the moment would probably be [that he is] available for the back-end of the tournament. That’s best-case scenario, which obviously, in a squad of 15, is going to leave us quite light.”
“The last thing we want to do is really to put a massive time [limit] on him and try to push him and force him into playing before he does [feel ready]. We’ve got to get him right, first and foremost.”
“But is there an opportunity or a place where potentially he could play at the back-end of a tournament, if all things go well and there was an injury? Yes, there’s a potential chance. But obviously, a lot of things have still got to go right with this rehab before then.”
“When you look at that squad, you cannot have a bowler that might not be available for the second half and definitely not for the first half. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it. If something miraculous happens with him, we have time to change things but I just don’t see it happening. It is just coming too soon and we can’t rush this decision on Jof this time.” added Luke Wright
