Anubhav Katheria
England’s pace bowler Jofra Archer is eyeing the Ashes 2025-26 series
in Australia. He has been absent from Test Cricket since 2021 due to
severe injuries, he wants to return to the longer format and want to
make sure that he is fully fit for the Ashes series.
The 29-year-old England’s star bowler has been absent from the ODIs
and Test due to his lasting back and elbow injuries for over 3 years.
Talking about his test return Archer said that he is tired of reading
negative stuff about him on social media, people make fun of his
injuries on social media, and he wants to use the rest of the year to
fully recover and prove these people wrong. He also said that he just
wants to make sure that participating in the next Ashes is at least a
possibility for him. Seeing a post on Social Media saying that he’s
going to be on the physio’s bed in the next two weeks really disturbed
him, Jofra added.
Archer has only played one Ashes series which was in 2019 where he
took 22 wickets combined in all four matches, he really gave the
Australian batters a hard time on the pitch.
Archer also clarified that he needs to keep the workload in mind and
decide which match he should play to get ready for Test cricket. He
said that he will manage himself as best as he can and get through at
least the start of the Championship next year, he probably plays few
of those games and keeps building up and getting the workload ready
for Test cricket. He is ready and feeling good, he wants to get some
games in, he is going to enjoy the little phase of some white ball
cricket, he added.
Archer has only played one Ashes series which was in 2019 where he
took 22 wickets combined in all four matches, he really gave the
Australian batters a hard time on the pitch. Archer spent 18 months on
the sideline and made his return in the SA20 2023, he played for
Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2023 but was ruled out from the tournament
due to an elbow injury. He also missed the Ashes that year and the ODI
World cup.
When will he return to the longer format?
Archer recently made his international return; he played in the T20
World Cup and took 10 wickets but couldn’t help England in defending
their T20 World Cup title. However, his comeback in red ball cricket
is still far away, England’s managing director Rob Key has stated that
they are not looking to rush him back in Test cricket and wants him to
recover fully well before making his return to the longer format.
Rob Key expects Archer to make his comeback in the Test cricket
against India in the home series in 2025. The Indian team will travel
to England for a 5 match Test series in the summer of 2025. Key feels
that it will be an ideal time for him to return to Test cricket.
