Fast bowler Jofra Archer has officially withdrawn from the Indian Premier League but is on track to be fit for England's first Test of the summer, cricket chiefs announced on Friday. Archer missed the start of Rajasthan Royals' campaign after undergoing surgery to remove fragments of glass from a finger. "The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that England and Sussex bowler Jofra Archer will not play in the 2021 Indian Premier League," it said in a statement. "Archer returned to bowling this week with higher intensity and the ECB and Sussex medical teams will continue to monitor his progress." The world's richest Twenty20 tournament is taking place during a coronavirus emergency in India, which on Friday reported more than 330 000 new infections.

Source: News 24 April 23, 2021 14:03 UTC