England star Archer back in IPL auction list but likely to miss 2022 season

Jofra Archer

New Delhi: England’s Jofra Archer has been added to the India Premier League auction list but the tournament’s franchises were told yesterday to pick the fast bowler at their own risk. Archer, who is recovering from a second operation on his injured elbow, is among 590 cricketers going under the hammer on February 12 and 13 in Bangalore. The 26-year-old has placed himself in the top bracket of potential recruits with a base price of $267,285. But the England and Wales Cricket Board registered him “with a view to potential participation in 2023 and 2024, as due to his current injury it is unlikely that he can participate in IPL 2022,” the league’s chief operating officer Hemang Amin told its 10 franchises in an email seen by reporters. “Therefore, his name has been included in the auction list but he won’t feature in the marquee or other sets to be presented,” Amin added. “He will be available to be called during the accelerated auction and whoever picks him will not get a replacement player for IPL 2022 season.” Ten teams will bid and participate in this year’s IPL after the addition of two new franchises, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Trent Boult, Pat Cummins, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Kagiso Rabada, and David Warner are among the marquee players at the top of the mega auctions. Earlier, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, Australian fast-bowler Mitchell Starc and veteran West Indies big-hitter Chris Gayle had decided to opt-out. The 15th edition of the IPL, the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament, will begin in the last week of March and run till the end of May. The league’s last edition began in India but was suspended in May 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was later finished in the United Arab Emirates, with Chennai Super Kings emerging as champions.