New Delhi, November 22 (IANS). England fast bowler Joffra Archer has been included again in the IPL auction list. Just a few days ago, his name was not in the shortlist that was sent to the franchises late last week. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the franchises were informally informed about Archer’s inclusion in the list on Thursday. The two-day IPL mega auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on November 24-25.
IPL has not made this news public yet, but it will be interesting for the franchises to see which set Archer comes in. Along with his England teammate Mark Wood, Archer was also among the key players who were not included in the shortlist of 574 players sent by the IPL to the franchises. Many questions were raised due to their names not being in that list, because both the fast bowlers were part of the original list of IPL. Archer had fixed a maximum base price of Rs 2 crore for the auction.
ESPN Cricinfo has learned that Archer and his representatives were in discussions with the ECB and BCCI this week to clarify what the impact would be if his name is not included in the shortlist. Archer has a central contract with the England Cricket Board (ECB), due to which his workload is also taken care of by the ECB.
Archer has not played Test cricket since the start of 2021, but England are hopeful of him playing Tests against India and Australia next year. England cricket managing director Rob Key told the Sunday Times last week: “Everything is going according to plan with Joffra. Can he play Tests next summer? All my fingers are crossed, probably yes.”
Spending April and May in the IPL will make it difficult for Archer, as he will be unable to play for Sussex in the early stages of the County Championship. Last year, the ECB had barred Archer from participating in the IPL auction so that he does not make a hasty comeback from injury. However, if he was stopped this year, he would have been unable to participate in the IPL till 2027.
The IPL has introduced new rules for this auction cycle, according to which players who have previously participated in the league but did not register for the mega-auction will not be allowed to register for the next mini-auction. Under another rule, if a player is bought in the auction and withdraws his name without proper reason, he will face a ban for two years.
The 29-year-old Archer made a comeback this year after a long injury layoff and took part in England’s white-ball series against Pakistan, Australia and West Indies. He played all three ODI matches on the recent Caribbean tour.
Mumbai Indians spent Rs 8 crore on Archer in the 2022 mega auction. However he was not fit to play that season. Archer played five matches for Mumbai Indians in 2023 and took two wickets.
Archer was named the Most Valuable Player in his entire last IPL season (2020). That season he took 20 wickets for Rajasthan Royals, which was held in the UAE.
–IANS
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