"Jofra Archer will go straight into the Ashes off the back of the IPL" - Sussex coach Paul Farbrace

England fast bowler Jofra Archer won't feature in any county matches due to his commitments in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

The last two years were plagued with injuries for the Sussex pacer, which kept him out of England's squad for successive T20 World Cups and The Ashes 2021-22.

The 27-year-old has not played Test cricket since February 2021 against India in Ahmedabad. In fact, Jofra Archer played his last first-class game for Sussex against Kent in May 2021.

According to a Cricbuzz report on March 1, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Archer will be available to participate in the entire IPL season for the Mumbai Indians.

In the absence of Indian ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Archer is expected to lead the bowling attack for the five-time IPL champions.

This means Archer won't get any preparation for his potential participation in the Ashes in June unless he plays in England's one-off Test against Ireland, starting on June 1, just four days after the IPL 2023 final (May 28).

While speaking to BBC Radio Sussex about Archer's availability during the county season, Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said:

"I think all things being equal, he (Jofra Archer) will go straight into the Ashes off the back of the IPL. The England plan for Jofra is he'll go and play in the IPL. I think their plan is that between IPL games he'll then bowl some longer spells to get his overs up and make sure that he is match-ready."

Farbrace added:

"That's the nature of international franchise cricket these days. I know there'll be a lot of people saying 'he should play at least two four-day games to be ready for a Test match', but the preparation and the work that the medical teams do around these players is exceptional."

Archer was bought by the Mumbai Indians in the mega auction last year for INR 8 crore despite knowing his absence from the season owing to injuries. The franchise is intended for long-term investment with the aim of forming a formidable bowling pair of Archer and Bumrah.

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Why Jofra Archer was out of action for so long?

Jofra Archer was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa in January 2020 due to an injury to his right elbow. He did not participate in the remainder of the tour and returned to England.

While cleaning the fish tank in January 2021, Archer suffered a freak injury and went under the knife to extract glass from the finger. The elbow injury returned again and he was subsequently ruled out of the IPL 2021.

He went on to undergo his second surgery in December 2021. The ECB issued a statement in May 2022 stating that Archer suffered a stress fracture in back and will miss England's summer.

Archer played his first competitive cricket game earlier this year for MI Cape Town in the inaugural season of SA20. He then picked up 16 wickets in a total of seven matches on England's white-ball tours of South Africa and Bangladesh in 2023.