Archer may skip India Tests to be fit for T20 WC and Ashes

London, England pace bowler Jofra Archer has said he is willing to miss five-Test series against India in August-September so as to be fully fit for T20 World Cup and Ashes later this year.

“One thing I am determined about post-elbow operation is not to rush my comeback because my primary focus is to be playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes later this year,” Archer wrote in his column for Daily Mail.

“Those are my targets. If I come back before then and manage to play in the home Test series against India — then fine, so be it. If I don’t, I am quite prepared to sit out the summer.”

England play New Zealand in two Test matches beginning June 2, which Archer will surely miss. They then play India in a five-match Test series that begins on August 4, with the first Test in Nottingham, and ends on September 14 with the fifth and final Test in Manchester.

“The way I am looking at things is that I would rather miss a few weeks of a year so that I have a few more years in my career,” wrote Archer before adding that if his injury doesn’t heal this time he will not play any cricket.

“I just want to get this injury sorted once and for all and that’s why I’m not looking that far ahead or at dates for a return to action — because if I don’t get this right, I won’t play any cricket. Period.”

The T20 World Cup will be held in October-November and the Ashes series will begin from December 8.

“I am not going to do myself any good by coming back before I’m fully fit, so I will take my time…

“The bandages are off and I have spoken to the consultant since, but everything is still very fresh and I remain sore after what was a career-defining moment last Friday,” he added.

Archer played a couple of matches this month, his first since international games in March in India. He played for Sussex against Kent in County Championship and before that, he represented Sussex second XIs.

He said he needed to undergo surgery this month since rest and pain-killing injections weren’t working.

“But after playing for Sussex against Kent earlier this month, it wasn’t a difficult decision to go down the surgery route because trying to manage the injury with rest and pain-killing injections clearly wasn’t working,” he wrote.

He said he wants to play all three formats for England.

“As I stated recently in these pages, I remain committed to playing all three formats for England and to winning big series. But it has been quite a while since I bowled completely pain-free,” he added.

“My hope now is that I’m fit and as effective as the old me in the not-too-distant future so that I can play a key role in the two big events at the end of 2021.”