Jofra Archer to undergo surgery on March 29

England pacer Jofra Archer will undergo a procedure on his right hand on Monday, March 29. The decision was made after the pacer returned to England and visited a specialist.

Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against India and the early stages of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Archer's surgery read:

“He has also had a further injection for the right elbow injury that had seen him declared unfit for selection for the current ODI series versus India. The procedure on Jofra’s hand will take place on Monday, 29 March, so he can recover during the planned break following his elbow injection.”

Reportedly, Jofra Archer suffered a cut to his hand at home in January before flying to India for the Test series. The ECB’s medical team managed that injury, and it did not impact his selection.

The ECB report added:

“Further investigation and a specialist opinion was sought upon his return to the UK, and in conjunction with the ECB medical panel, it has been decided that surgery is the best option to manage his injury in the longer term.”

The ECB medical team will provide further details in due course.

Speedy recovery @JofraArcher 🙏

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 27, 2021

Question mark over Jofra Archer’s participation in IPL

Born in Barbados, Jofra Archer, who represented West Indies in the Under-19 World Cup, is among the leading bowlers in world cricket. A vital cog for the Rajasthan Royals side, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament in IPL 2020.

However, the surgery on his bowling hand has put his IPL 2021 participation in doubt; the tournament commences in the second week of April.

With a long English summer, the T20 World Cup and the Ashes coming up, England have a busy year ahead, with Archer central to their plans across all three formats of the game.

Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2021: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Andrew Tye, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Liam Livingstone, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, KC Cariappa, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Chetan Sakariya.

Rajasthan Royals will begin their IPL 2021 campaign against Punjab Kings on April 12 in Mumbai.