The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) released a list of 574 players for the upcoming auction for the IPL 2025. Jofra Archer was missing from that list that will go under the hammer.
His exclusion came as a surprise, given that he has been playing only white-ball cricket in the last few years. However, it has come to light that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are looking to protect the 29-year-old fast bowler’s workload. In fact, there are reports from Cricbuzz that the ECB want him to be ready for the important Test season that is coming up.
England are set to face India in a five-match Test series at home in the 2025 summer. They will then fly to Australia for the all-important Ashes series at the end of the year. England have not won an Ashes series since 2015 and that will be top on their priority list.
Archer has played only 13 Test matches in his career, the last of which came back in February 2021. Thus, the England team management will want the Barbados-born quick to be fully fit and raring to go for the busy Test season which is right after the IPL 2025.
The ECB pulled Archer out of the 2024 season of the IPL as well as they wanted him to be fresh and manage his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Now, according to the new rules, since he will not be a part of the 2025 auction, Archer will not be allowed to enter the auction for the 2026 IPL season either.
Archer last played in the IPL in 2023
Archer last played in the IPL in the 2023 season. He was bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) for a sum of INR 8 crore in the 2022 edition for which he was completely ruled out. He played just five games in 2023, taking two scalps before he was ruled out midway through the season.
Prior to that, he featured in three editions for Rajasthan Royals (RR). From 2018 to 2020, he was one of the vital members of the RR side and played 35 matches. He picked up 46 wickets at an economy rate of 7.13. The Barbodos-born cricketer won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the 2020 season. He returned with 20 wickets and scored 113 runs in that season.
Archer has been very injury-prone in the last few years. After a breakthrough international season in 2019-20, he has consistently found himself on the sidelines. Since injuring his elbow in 2021, he has featured in a mere 26 matches – 10 ODIs and 16 T20Is. Hence, the ECB are looking to protect and manage his workload.
