England fast bowler Jofra Archer is expected to undergo elbow surgery on Friday, which will rule him out of action for a significant period, including possibly at least some portion of the home Test series against India.

"Jofra Archer has been reviewed by a medical consultant in respect of his right elbow soreness. He will now proceed to surgery,�?the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stated.

Archer has had the elbow problem for well more than a year now, starting from the time he had to pull out of the Cape Town Test in January last year. He had been taking cortisone injections to manage the injury, but again felt enough pain recently to not be able to bowl much in a County Championship match for Sussex against Kent. 

Archer had hoped to test his fitness for his county side ahead of England’s two-match Test series against New Zealand in June.

It will be the second surgery Archer will have in recent times, following an operation to remove a shard of glass from the middle finger of his right hand, a fallout of a freak injury suffered at home while cleaning a fish tank.

Archer had already missed the Indian T20 League for Rajasthan this year. The decision to have surgery now will further extend his time away from the field, although England bowling coach Jon Lewis does not think it will hamper Archer in the long term.

"At the moment, he has a bit of an impingement in his elbow," Lewis told The Guardian. "A lot of fast bowlers get it in their ankle, so it's comparable but a different part of the body. Put a lot of pressure and flexion through any joint, it will take a bashing. But bowlers come through ankle impingements. I don't foresee it being a long-term major issue.

"From what I understand, either short term or long term, his elbow will recover. I would expect him to play a lot more international cricket for England. This is just a small blip on his journey," Lewis added.

Featured image : AFP / Alastair Grant 

Jofra Archer’s long-standing elbow injury has flared up again, ruling him out of England’s two-Test series against New Zealand in June. What’s more, the fast bowler may now even require surgery on the elbow, which may put him in doubt at least for the initial part of the five-Test series against India in August.

Archer had been taking injections to manage the elbow injury and also had surgery to remove a shard of glass from the middle finger of his right hand. While he has not faced further issues with the finger, pain in the elbow meant he was able to bowl only five overs for Sussex against Kent in the second innings of a County Championship game in Hove. 

Archer had bowled 13 impressive overs in the first innings. He had then said that he was feeling fine and was looking forward to playing against New Zealand if he could maintain his fitness.

"I really feel for him (Archer). He's in a difficult situation, with that skill of bowling really fast being taken away from him if you like,�?Sussex skipper Ben Brown said. “This week has been very challenging for him. He was hopeful about how it would go, but he's felt pretty sore in this game (against Kent)."

"The England and Sussex medical teams will now seek guidance," the England and Wales Cricket Board stated, "and Archer will see a medical consultant later this week to determine the next course of action on the management of his elbow."

Archer had a superb Indian T20 League 2020 for Team Rajasthan but missed the 2021 edition with the finger surgery. He is crucial to England’s plans for the T20 World Cup later this year. England take on Australia in the Ashes thereafter, where a fit Archer could be a handful on bouncy pitches Down Under.

Featured photo: Jewel SAMAD / AFP

Rajasthan pacer Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the Indian T20 League as he continues the rehabilitation of his finger surgery and a long-standing elbow injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed it on Friday.

In January, the 26-year-old express bowler injured his right hand while cleaning a fish tank at home in January and travelled for England's tour of India. Archer featured in two of the four Tests and the five-game T20I series before flying back home in March to undergo treatment. Over the course of the T20I series, the Englishman aggravated his elbow problem and thus took cortisone injections as part of his rehab.

As per reports, the 26-year-old World Cup Winner has been recovering well and is expected to full training with Sussex next week.

Team Rajasthan director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara stated that this call more precautionary as they didn’t want to risk Archer in a year when both the T20 World Cup and the Ashes will take place.

“His value to world cricket and England cricket is always part of our decision-making process, and we are always guided by the experts in English cricket who look after Jofra to guide us on how we could support that journey,�?Kumar Sangakkara had said.

“It’s not something we look at selfishly in terms of playing [in the Indian T20 League]. We understand the value of Jofra, and we take a holistic view of how important Jofra is not just to our cause but to England cricket and world cricket as well.�?/p>

Archer was instrumental in Rajasthan’s campaign last season, where the fast bowler took 20 wickets in 14 matches at a strike rate of 16.70.

This is the second huge injury Rajasthan has dealt with after English star Ben Stokes was ruled out of the season with a broken hand. Rajasthan are currently at the bottom of the points table with two points from four matches.

Feature Image: AFP/ Money Sharma

Rajasthan take on Punjab in the fourth match of the Indian T20 League at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 12.

Winners of the inaugural edition of the Indian T20 League in 2008, Rajasthan finished bottom of the table last year. 

Ahead of the new season, Rajasthan parted ways with their former captain Steve Smith and appointed India wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson as their new skipper. The franchise also roped in Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara as their Director of Cricket.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan made headlines at the Indian T20 League 2021 mini-auction as they broke the bank for South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris. The Sanju Samson-led side acquired the services of Chris Morris for Rs. 16.25 crore, making him the most expensive player in the Indian T20 league history.

The franchise also made valuable additions by roping in India all-rounder Shivam Dube and England swashbuckling batsman Liam Livingstone.

However, Rajasthan will miss the services of their star pacer Jofra Archer for a considerable period in the ongoing edition as he is currently recuperating from surgery.

On the other hand, the 2014 runners-up Punjab had finished sixth in the last edition of the tournament. The rechristened Punjab franchise will hope for a change of fortunes this season.

Ahead of the mini-auction, Punjab had released several big names including Glenn Maxwell, Sheldon Cottrell, Jimmy Neesham and Mujeeb ur Rahman. 

To replace these big names, the team management spent big money at the Indian T20 League 2021 auction by addressing their death bowling concern and their middle-order. 

The franchise has signed Australia pacers Jhye Richardson for Rs 14 crore, Riley Meredith for Rs 8 crore and world’s top-ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan for Rs 1.5 crores. Furthermore, they even shelled out as much as Rs 5.25 crores for the uncapped Tamil Nadu batsman Shahrukh Khan. 

In the Rajasthan vs Punjab head-to-head record in the Indian T20 League, the stats favour Rajasthan, who have won 12 of 21 matches played between these two teams.

Where to watch Rajasthan vs Punjab live in India?

The Rajasthan vs Punjab Indian T20 League match will be telecast live at 7:30 PM IST on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Hindi HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD TV channels in India, on Monday, April 12.

Live streaming of Rajasthan vs Punjab will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.

SportsAdda will bring you Rajasthan vs Punjab live scores from the Indian T20 League.

Featured photo: IPL/BCCI

England cricket team pacer Jofra Archer has reportedly decided to pull out of the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League.

The 25-year-old has been suffering from an elbow injury since the beginning of last year and he even missed the second and the fourth Test of the four-match series against India. Jofra could also be rested for the forthcoming three-match ODI series, starting from March 23 in Pune. 

As per reports in Telegraph Sport, the Rajasthan fast bowler is likely to pull out of this year’s Indian T20 League in a bid to get himself fit for England action. The report states that he will have a third injection on a troublesome right elbow. 

Exclusive: Jofra Archer likely to pull out of the IPL in order to stay fit for England's crucial year of Test cricket.

By @nhoultcricket http://t.co/bRzcmGT72F

�?Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) March 20, 2021

This could be a massive blow for the Rajasthan franchise as Archer was the leading wicket-taker for the team last year.

The England pacer has also been the wrecker-in-chief for the Three Lions in the ongoing T20I series against India, where he has bagged seven wickets in five matches at an average of 22.14.

 

Feature image courtesy: IPL, BCCI 2021.

The Indian cricket team’s emphatic eight-run victory over England in the fourth T20I on Thursday saw the hosts set up a mouth-watering finale for the five-match series at the Motera Stadium on Saturday.

Riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s gritty knock of 57 off 31 balls, which ended due to a soft-signal dismissal, and Shreyas Iyer’s quickfire 37 off 18 balls, India posted a competitive score of 185. In reply, England lost wickets at regular intervals as Shardul Thakur’s 3/42 and support from Hardik Pandya (2/16), Rahul Chahar (2/35) helped the hosts restrict the Three Lions to 177/8 as the Men in Blue levelled the five-match series 2-2.

India’s total (185/8) in the fourth T20I is now their fourth-highest score against England in T20 internationals.

Highest scores for IND vs ENG
Score	Innings	Ground	Date
218/4	1	Durban	19-Sep-07
202/6	1	Bengaluru	01-Feb-17
201/3	2	Bristol	08-Jul-18
185/8	1	Ahmedabad	18-Mar-21
177/8	1	Mumbai	22-Dec-12

Suryakumar Yadav, who came into bat at number three ahead of captain Virat Kohli, started his innings with a six and went on to register his maiden international half-century in just his second game. His knock is the fifth-highest score by an Indian number three batsman against England, and he also is the second Indian number three to score a fifty this series, after skipper Virat Kohli.

Highest SR for a #3 batsman vs ENG (50 or more runs)
Player	Runs	Strike Rate	Ground	Start Date
AB de Villiers (SA)	69*	246.42	Chattogram	29-Mar-14
BB McCullum (NZ)	74	194.73	Hamilton	12-Feb-13
Mohammad Hafeez (PAK)	69	191.66	Manchester	30-Aug-20
KL Rahul (INDIA)	101*	187.03	Manchester	03-Jul-18
SA Yadav (INDIA)	57	183.87	Ahmedabad	18-Mar-21

Suryakumar was well supported by his Mumbai teammate Shreyas Iyer, who played a swashbuckling knock of 18-ball 37 at an impressive strike rate of 205.55, the second-best strike rate by a number six batsman against England (min. 30 runs).

Highest SR for a #6 batsman vs ENG at home (min 30 runs)
Player	Runs	Strike Rate	Ground	Start Date
DJG Sammy (WI)	30*	333.33	Bridgetown	11-Mar-14
SS Iyer (INDIA)	37	205.55	Ahmedabad	18-Mar-21
CD McMillan (NZ)	57	183.87	Durban	18-Sep-07
NLTC Perera (SL)	57	183.87	Colombo (RPS)	27-Oct-18
DJ Mitchell (NZ)	30*	176.47	Christchurch	01-Nov-19

England’s batting may not have been up to the mark, but their bowlers - especially Jofra Archer - put on a decent performance with the ball. Except for Chris Jordan, five English bowlers took at least one wicket in the fourth T20I, which the visitors have managed for the fifth time against India in the shortest format of the game.

Instances with 5 ENG bowlers taking at least 1 wicket vs IND in T20Is
Venue	Inns with 1+ wicket	Strike Rate	Average	Economy	Start Date
Ahmedabad	5	8	17.37	8.68	18-Mar-21
Ahmedabad	5	7	15.57	6.05	12-Mar-21
Kanpur	5	6	24.00	7.20	26-Jan-17
Mumbai	5	7	24.42	8.55	22-Dec-12
Manchester	5	9	13.77	7.44	31-Aug-11

Archer, who was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets for 33 runs, took three scalps in the death overs and registered the third-best bowling figures by a visiting bowler against India in T20Is.

Best bowling figures by a visiting bowler vs IND
Player	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Economy	Ground	Start Date
MJ Santner (NZ)	4	11	4	2.75	Nagpur	15-Mar-16
JP Behrendorff (AUS)	4	21	4	5.25	Guwahati	10-Oct-17
JC Archer (ENG)	4	33	4	8.25	Ahmedabad	18-Mar-21
TA Boult (NZ)	4	34	4	8.50	Rajkot	04-Nov-17
Umar Gul (PAK)	4	37	4	9.25	Ahmedabad	28-Dec-12

On the flip side, Adil Rashid had a night to forget. The spinner leaked 39 runs, the second-most by an English bowler in the five-match series and the fifth-most by an England spinner away from home. 

Most runs conceded by an ENG spinner away from home in T20Is
Player	Overs	Runs conceded	Economy	Opposition	Ground	Start Date
DR Briggs	4	53	13.25	Australia	Hobart	29-Jan-14
MW Parkinson	4	47	11.75	New Zealand	Napier	08-Nov-19
AU Rashid	4	42	10.50	South Africa	Centurion	16-Feb-20
MS Panesar	4	40	10.00	Australia	Sydney	09-Jan-07
GP Swann	4	40	10.00	Australia	Adelaide	12-Jan-11
AU Rashid	4	40	10.00	New Zealand	Wellington	03-Nov-19
AU Rashid	4	39	9.75	India	Ahmedabad	18-Mar-21

Virat Kohli-led India and Eoin Morgan’s England will now fight for bragging rights in the fifth and final T20I on Saturday, March 20.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Jewel Samad

After a demoralising eight-wicket defeat against England in the first T20 International, the Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team will look to bounce back in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera on Sunday.

Apart from Shreyas Iyer, who offered some resistance from one end, the rest of the famed Indian batting line-up fell apart. Rishabh Pant (21) and Hardik Pandya (19) were the only others to get to double figures.

I must admit I was a little bit surprised to see Rohit Sharma being rested for the first two T20Is against the world’s top-ranked T20I team.

Both India and England are eyeing this five-match series to rectify their mistakes and form a perfect combination ahead of the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in October-November this year.

While England dominated India in all three departments in the first T20I, I expect the Men in Blue to make a strong comeback, just like they did in the Test series.

Here are four names who I think can put in a Man of the Match performance in the second T20I.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer who usually comes at number 4, batted a position down as the team management decided to promote Rishabh Pant ahead of him in the first fixture. The 26-year-old’s 48-ball 67 helped his side post a respectable total of 124/7 after Team India’s horrible top-order collapse. It was undoubtedly one of Iyer’s best innings in the shortest format of the game. I expect him to continue his good form in the second T20I as well.

Jason Roy

Chasing a modest 125 runs in the first T20I, England opener Jason Roy slammed a quick-fire 32-ball 49 to guide the visitors to a comfortable win. This impressive knock kind of ended a personally below-par 12-month period in international cricket for the 30-year-old. Roy and Jos Buttler form one of the most destructive opening pairs in world cricket at the moment and I expect Roy to play an important role in the upcoming T20I in Motera.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

It felt great to see Bhuvneshwar Kumar return to the Indian limited-overs set-up after more than a year. With Team India missing the services of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami for the England T20Is, Kumar is the leader of the attack. Virat Kohli and the Indian team management will hope Bhuvneshwar returns to his very best ahead of the World T20. As there was assistance for the pacers in the first T20I in Motera, I’m hoping Bhuvi can pick some early wickets to put some pressure on England in the second T20I.

Jofra Archer

England pacer Jofra Archer was the wrecker-in-chief for the visitors as he helped his side restrict India to a below-par total in the first T20I. As a former fast bowler, I enjoy pacers bowling at a rapid pace and troubling the batters. Archer is someone I relish watching, the way he runs in, to the likes of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant tells you he relishes the challenge as well. England will certainly hope that their pace spearhead can continue his good form in the upcoming T20I.

England cricket team suffered a massive blow ahead of the second Test against India as their ace fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out, the England and Wales Cricket (ECB) said on Thursday.

The 25-year-old pacer was unable to train on Thursday after reporting pain in his right elbow and had subsequently undergone a painkilling injection.

"Jofra Archer will miss England men's second Test against India in Chennai starting on Saturday after having an injection in his right elbow. The injection follows discomfort the fast bowler experienced during the 227-run win in the first Test at the same venue," said the ECB in a statement. 

We can confirm that @JofraArcher will miss the second Test against India in Chennai starting on Saturday after having an injection in his right elbow.

�?England Cricket (@englandcricket) February 11, 2021

"The issue is not related to any previous injury and it is hoped the treatment will allow the condition to settle down quickly, allowing the player to return to action in time for the third Test in Ahmedabad."

Earlier, England head coach Chris Silverwood had hinted that the visitors might rest veteran fast bowler James Anderson for the second Test as they look to continue their rotation policy.

"I am not reluctant to change a winning team if it is the best thing to do for the players and the team and our longevity over a long period. Yes, he (Anderson) is a class act, but you'll have to wait and see," Silverwood told the media on Wednesday. 

Archer in his column for Daily Mail said that he was suffering from stomach ache after the final day of the first Test, which England won by 227 runs. 

"I'm not a big beer drinker and I would normally have a spirit to celebrate, but I didn't partake because I wasn't feeling well. I had a serious tummy ache, which might have been food poisoning, so I just slept. Stuart Broad didn't feel too good either. Nevertheless, because of the quality of the opposition, our win felt like a serious achievement," he wrote. 

Joe Root-led England have added 30 points to their kitty after defeating India in the first Test and they need to win at least two more matches in the ongoing four-match series to seal their place in the ICC World Test Championship final (WTC).

Feature image courtesy: Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP