Jofra Archer has had a disappointing season as the England fast bowler has been unable to perform across all formats of the game this summer. Archer was ruled out of the Ashes series due to a stress fracture to his right elbow. Ahead of the Test series against rivals Australia, Kevin Pietersen, former cricketer, has made a bold statement about the injured bowler. Kevin Pietersen has issued a bold statement about MI pacer Jofra Archer(PTI)
Archer was signed by the Mumbai Indians for INR 8 crore at the IPL auction, but he failed to impress in his debut season. The former Rajasthan Royals star only played five matches in the IPL 2023 edition. Archer did not play international cricket for 17 months due to several injuries before his comeback in January.
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Pietersen shared his thoughts on Archer’s injury setback during the IPL 2023. Pietersen revealed that Archer’s journey with English cricket might be coming to an end due to the recurrence of a stress fracture injury. “I’m gutted for Jofra. Absolutely gutted. I think this will probably end his journey with English cricket. I know that there are reports around a franchise contract, and that would be the smartest thing for him to do now. Take six months to recover, select a few tournaments to play, and bowl at the speed of light for a few months of the year. He would earn good money and still have a career in the game,” Pietersen wrote in his blog for Betaway.
Pietersen also expressed his doubts about Archer’s ability to play Test cricket for England. Archer has featured in 21 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 13 Test matches for England. “I think the longer form of the game has passed him by. I think English cricket has probably passed him by. It’s no fault of his own, he’s just injury prone. As much as he would love to play for England, because I know that’s his dream, it’s probably finished. He should now just go and cash in as much as he can in franchise cricket. But first of all, get himself fit,” Pietersen added.