The England T20I side might miss out on the services of their lead pacer Jofra Archer, who is yet to recover from the persistent elbow injury that plagued him during the Test series against India.
Archer was kept out of the playing XI for the fourth Test in Ahmedabad due to the same elbow issue. The medical team is currently monitoring the Barbados-born cricketer's elbow and is trying to bring him back to full fitness as early as possible.
England head coach Chris Silverwood has reiterated that Archer's elbow had flared up and it kept the pacer out of the final Test match. He has also said that the medical team is concerned about the treatment of that elbow from a long-term point of view.
Silverwood said during a virtual press conference, "Jofra's elbow did flare up a little bit and the medical staff are managing that at the moment. Obviously, we'll monitor his progress. The medical staff are talking about how we deal with this long term.”
The 46-year-old also revealed that Archer practiced with the rest of the white-ball squad on Sunday, March 7.
IND v ENG 2021: "Ashwin, Akshar made life very hard for us," says Silverwood after Test series loss
“He's trained today (Sunday) with the white-ball squad. We'll be monitoring his situation but he got through training today," Silverwood added.
He desires Jofra Archer to have a long and successful Test career for England and hopes that the pacer gets every ounce of resource that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) can provide to him to help him in the long run.
Silverwood said, “I'll be guided by the medics. We'll see where we end up with him. I want Jofra to be fit for all forms of cricket. I want him to have a long, successful Test career. Could we limit the number of overs he bowls?”
“It's not something I would go out and predict but we'll find out in the course of time. The important thing for me at the moment is that Jofra gets every resource we can provide to make sure he does have a long and successful Test career. I'm not sure surgery has come up yet. I'll be guided by the medics on that. I wouldn't say I'm concerned, no,” he added.
The T20I series between India and England will commence on Friday, March 12 in Ahmedabad.
(With ANI inputs)
