Archer puts England first by leaving India series, says coach Silverwood

Fast bowler Jofra Archer has “put England first” by leaving the tour of India early for treatment and missing at least the start of the lucrative Indian Premier League, England coach Chris Silverwood said on Sunday.

The England management will put “all resources” into helping the 25-year-old pace spearhead to be ready for the Twenty20 World Cup and a key Australia tour later this year, Silverwood added.

Archer has been ruled out of England’s one-day series in India this week and will also miss the start of the IPL because of his worsening elbow injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board said.

Archer missed two of the four Tests in India because of the problem but played in all five matches of the T20 series which India sealed 3-2 on Saturday.

“Jofra’s elbow issue has deteriorated over the course of the Twenty20 International series and made it increasingly challenging for him to maintain performance levels. He has been deemed unfit for selection for the ODI series,” said the ECB.

Archer has a $1.1 million deal with the Rajasthan Royals but the ECB said he would miss at least the opening games of the IPL tournament which starts on April 9. Silverwood paid tribute to Archer’s hunger to play for England and potentially miss out on his big IPL pay day.

“It was a joint decision and he put England first basically. He needs to get this right,” said the England coach.

“We have made some space to make sure that we give him the best chance of being successful for England,” he added.

“Jofra was very, very keen on that as well. He wants to be at the World Cup, and he wants to be at the Ashes. It wasn’t a difficult decision by either side to be honest. I think it was a sensible decision.

“It is very satisfying and it shows how passionate Jofra is about playing for England and how much he enjoys playing for England.”

Archer has missed a number of games over the past year with elbow problems but Silverwood said the latest issue was not the same injury.

“The important thing here is that we get it cleared up, we get him to see the specialist, we make sure that we put everything in place for Jofra to have a long, successful career for England in all formats.”

Archer’s omission aside, the 14-man squad for the ODIs on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday closely resembles the one England had in the T20 series.

Test captain Joe Root, no longer a T20 regular, will not be flying back for the 50-over matches. Silverwood said this would open up opportunities for “fresh faces” at number three and other positions.

Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson has been promoted from the standby list but batsman Dawid Malan and fast bowler Chris Jordan, involved in the T20 series, join seamer Jake Ball as travelling reserves.

Meanwhile,  Kohli asserted to continue to open in the T20s after a match-winning knock against England in the series decider against England.

Kohli was promoted up the order to partner Rohit Sharma for the first time in the shortest format and the move proved key as they put on a blazing stand of 94 to lay the foundation of India’s 224-2, their highest Twenty20 score against England.

Sharma blasted 64 before departing and Kohli, who started cautiously, finished with a flourish in his 52-ball knock in Ahmedabad.

“I am going to open in the IPL as well,” said Kohli, who captains Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, after India’s 36-run win on Saturday gave them a 3-2 series victory.

“Look I have batted at different positions, but I feel we do have a very solid middle-order now. And now it’s about your two best players getting maximum number of balls in T20 cricket. So I would definitely like to partner Rohit at the top.”

Agencies

England squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wkt), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood

Reserves: Jake Ball, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan