England fast bowler Jofra Archer is all set to return to competitive cricket on Thursday (May 13) after being named in Sussex’s 13-man squad for a County Championship match against Kent.

The speedster was out of action for more than one-and-half months due to an injury that he sustained in January when an attempt to clean his fish tank and went wrong.

He underwent surgery on his hand in March, while his last competitive was the fifth T20I against India in Ahmedabad on March 20.

However, the 26-year-old pacer, who withdrew from the whole of the IPL 2021 before its postponement, played for Sussex's second XI against Surrey last week in the Second Eleven Championship, and bowled 29.2 overs but didn’t bowl in the second innings.

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The pacer will play his first game in the County Championship since September 2018 on Thursday. This game is likely to be Archer’s last chance to prove his fitness ahead of England’s two-Test series against New Zealand starting at Lord's on June 2, as Sussex do not have a Championship fixture on May 20.

Sussex head coach Ian Salisbury said in a statement: “Any team in world cricket would be excited to name Jof (Archer) in their squad for a game. Everybody is aware of his talents.”

He added, “Are we going to force him to come back when he's actually England's player? Say he gets an injury and he can't play in the Test matches this summer - I wouldn't be very popular.”

Noteworthy, Archer will continue his return to fitness by playing for Sussex in the County Championship this week to have many chances to play in the upcoming home series against New Zealand.

(With PTI Inputs)