England fast bowler Jofra Archer ruled out of three ODIs against India and start of IPL due to persistent elbow problem; fast bowler will return to UK for further assessment; Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone and Reece Topley in 14-man squad for India ODIs in Pune, which start on Tuesday
Sunday 21 March 2021 17:53, UK
Fast bowler Jofra Archer has been ruled out of England's three-match one-day international series against India and the start of the Indian Premier League due his persistent right elbow problem.
England captain Eoin Morgan said on Saturday that Archer's injury had "become worse and does need attention" and the ECB said in a statement on Sunday that the issue "has made it increasingly challenging for him to maintain performance levels".
The 25-year-old will now head home to the United Kingdom for assessment and treatment after being "deemed unfit for selection", meaning he will miss the three ODIs against Virat Kohli's side in Pune, which are live on Sky Sports Cricket on Tuesday, Friday and next Sunday.
Archer will also sit out the start of Rajasthan Royals' IPL campaign when the 20-over tournament gets underway, live on Sky Sports, on April 9.
The paceman played in all five of England's T20s against India, taking seven wickets, but missed the second and fourth Tests against Kohli's side earlier this year with his elbow problem.
Archer is expected to play a big role for England across the formats this year, with a home five-match Test series against India this summer followed by the T20 World Cup in India in October and November and then an Ashes series in Australia over the winter.
An ECB statement read: "Jofra Archer is returning to the UK for further management and investigation of his right elbow injury.
"Jofra's elbow issue has deteriorated over the course of the Twenty20 International series and made it increasingly challenging for him to maintain performance levels. He has been deemed unfit for selection for the ODI series that features matches on 23, 26 and 28 March.
"The ECB medical team will assess the player and, together with Jofra, develop a treatment plan and a return-to-play schedule in due course. As a consequence, Jofra will miss the start of this year's Indian Premier League."
England have selected their 14-man ODI squad from the players who were in Ahmedabad for the five-match T20 international series, which India won 3-2 after a 36-run victory in Saturday's decider.
Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson has been included having been a reserve for the T20s - the 24-year-old is the only player to have been in the England camp during the full winter schedule in Sri Lanka and India but is yet to play a game.
Head coach Chris Silverwood said of Parkinson: "I have got nothing but praise for Matt. The way he has conducted himself, trained and got stuck in helping the lads. He has been a delight to have on tour."
Dawid Malan, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball are not in the official ODI squad but will stay with the group as cover.
Joe Root and Chris Woakes, two integral members of England's usual 50-over squad, returned home after the Test series and have not returned, with Silverwood confirming the two are being rested.
Silverwood added: "Joe is a fine one-day player, as we all know, but it was a good opportunity to give him a break having been in the bubble for so long through the Test series.
"Woakesy is not here because he is also having a break and spending time with his family. He is an outstanding contributor in ODI cricket."
England ODI squad for India series: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood. COVER Jake Ball, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan
Watch England's first ODI against India, in Pune, live from 7.30am on Tuesday on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event. You will also be able to follow text commentary and in-play clips through our live blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
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