England all-rounder Ben Stokes lauded ace pacer Jofra Archer for prioritizing his national team and said that he is not sure if the latter would be able to take part in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) due to injury.
England pacer Jofra Archer's elbow injury flared up during the recently concluded Test series between India and England. The pacer missed two Test matches but returned in England’s XI and played all the five T20I matches.
Archer further aggravated the injury and made himself unavailable for the ongoing ODI series against India and the first half of the IPL 2021, keeping the mind the packed schedule of England this year.
IPL 2021: Archer's IPL return depends on medical team's investigation, says Morgan
Talking about Jofra Archer’s availability for the IPL 2021, Stokes, who is his Rajasthan Royals' teammate, said that he’s not sure about Archer's participation . He added that the pacer needs to give his injured elbow a chance to recover.
"We're not sure how much of it he'll be able to play a part if any. One thing that we need to be very mindful of is that Jofra does need to give this elbow a chance to recover,” Ben Stokes said during a virtual press conference.
Stokes while lauding Archer for prioritizing England commitments said that it’s a sensible option for the latter to take rest to pursue a long-term career.
"It's great that he's come out and said he's putting his England commitments before everything else. It's tough having an injury then getting through a game and then going backward again. I think long term for his career, this is a very sensible option for him to be taking,” he said.
Ben Stokes, who played his first ODI game against India in the first ODI since the World Cup 2019, admitted that the audience will scrutinize whoever replaces Joe Root at the no. 3 spot.
"There would be talk, whoever filled the place at number three with Rooty not being here. People keep talking and I'll just go out and try to do what I've been asked to do,” he said.
The all-rounder then revealed that he had actually messaged the Test skipper on the eve of the game. Root, in turn, asked Stokes to play his natural game.
“But I did actually message Rooty and asked him about his mindset at three, and he was pretty clear to me in saying 'just play the way you play'. Just because he plays a certain way doesn't mean I have to do it like that." he concluded.
The second ODI between India and England will be played on 26th March at Pune.
