IPL 2023: Jofra Archer close on returning to XI for Mumbai Indians, says his aim remains to bowl fast

Mumbai Indians fast bowler Jofra Archer said he’s doing his best to regain full fitness after missing four straight matches due to soreness in his elbow. After returning to competitive cricket following a long injury lay-off, Archer made his MI debut against RCB in IPL 2023, where he went wicketless for 33 runs in four overs. 

After the game, head coach Mark Boucher informed about swelling in Archer’s elbow that further ruled him out. As per the latest reports, the right-arm pacer returned to the nets on Thursday afternoon and bowled four overs – giving an impression as soon he’d be available for selection.

Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Archer said the past two weeks didn’t go the way he had planned and that he expected his body to take longer to reach 100% after being out of action for so long.

“Obviously the last two weeks aren’t exactly what you would hope for after being so fully active,” Archer told ESPNcricinfo. “But it’s what you expect when you’ve been off for a long time: the body’s not going to be 100 per cent straight away.”

Archer added he and even the team management are not rushing him into getting fit, and even though he cannot wait to get back to the field, the seamer said he is not sure by when he can get the green signal.

“There are going to be moments where it feels a lot more serious than it actually is. I don’t know which game will be the next game, but I’m just trying to put myself in the best position possible [to play],” Archer said. “To be honest, I still want to bowl fast and stuff – but when you feel good, you bowl good. I just want to focus on feeling good at the minute,” the Englishman added. 

Ahead of the 2022 auction, the former five-time champions picked Archer for INR 8 crores (£780,000 approx.) despite knowing he will remain unavailable for that season.

Upon returning, Archer played for MI Cape Town in SA20 and then joined Mumbai Indians for IPL 2023.

Talking about his stay at MI so far, Archer said he is enjoying his time here and hopefully can soon win some games for this team.

“I’ve been really well looked after here. You feel at home,” Archer said. “Everyone has welcomed me with open arms. It’s a great franchise, and hopefully, I get the opportunity to win a few games for them. We’ve won more games than we’ve lost which is miles better than what we did last year, so everything is going well, and the mood in the camp is good.” 

As MI will play PBKS at home in a Saturday evening encounter, Archer could return to the XI in that game.