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England fast bowler Jofra Archer ruled out of remainder of Indian Premier League

England and Sussex will continue to monitor the progress of Archer, who will step up his training regime next week and start full training with his home county; the ECB will decide in due course when fast bowler will be fit to return

Jofra Archer
Image: Jofra Archer took 20 wickets in 14 matches for Rajasthan Royals in 2020

England paceman Jofra Archer will miss the entire Indian Premier League as he recovers from a long-standing elbow injury.

Rajasthan Royals had hoped that Archer, who was named Most Valuable Player in the 2020 campaign, would play some part in the tournament after sitting out the early rounds.

However, although the 26-year-old returned to bowling this week with higher intensity, the ECB has confirmed that the Sussex fast bowler is not match-ready.

Archer is the third England player to be ruled out for Rajasthan this season, after Ben Stokes broke a finger in the field and Liam Livingstone headed home citing bubble fatigue.

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Archer will now step up his training regime starting next week and will be in full training with Sussex, who along with the ECB will monitor his progress.

It is expected that he will return to cricket in the next fortnight if he can continue to bowl and prepare pain-free, with the ECB confirming which matches he is expected to play in due course.

England begin their international summer on June 2 with the first of two Tests against New Zealand but before then Archer will successfully need to come through a second XI match for Sussex before proving his fitness in the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Kent, on May 13.

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The ECB has already said that players whose franchises do reach the knockout stages of the IPL will be able to prioritise those fixtures over the first Test against the Black Caps.

But the growing coronavirus crisis in India has increased the complexity of when English players should return home.

With India now on the 'red list', British passport holders will need to quarantine for 10 days upon return to comply with government guidance.

With the group stages of the IPL not ending until May 23 and the first Test starting at Lord's on June 2, English players face the choice of leaving their franchise early or being ruled out of the first international match of the summer.

Players who stay on in India until the end of the IPL could potentially also be unavailable for the second test starting on June 10 at Edgbaston - but that will depend on the bubble restrictions implemented this summer by ECB.

Live coverage of the Indian Premier League continues daily on Sky Sports Cricket. Join us for the first Test of the summer on June 2, when England take on New Zealand.

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