England speedster and former Rajasthan Royals premier bowler Jofra Archer has put his name in the hat for the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, scheduled to take place on February 12 and 13. The Barbados-born express bowler has put himself in the highest reserve price category, INR 2 crore, along with 47 other players.
While this may sound exciting at first, but breaking the bank for the 26-year-old will be a future investment as he is almost certain to miss the 2022 season of the T20 league due to ongoing injury issues. Archer had undergone an elbow surgery in December last year and will reportedly keep him out of action till the summer this year. Meanwhile, the BCCI plans to host the IPL sometime in March.
According to Cricbuzz, Archer’ name has been added to the auction list because the England and Wales Cricket (ECB) informed the BCCI that he will be available for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Cricbuzz further reports 43 other names have been added to the auction register at the request of the ten franchises. Usman Khawaja and Andile Phehlukwayo are the other prominent names on that list.
“The ECB has registered Archer for the auction with a view to potential participation in 2023 and 2024, as due to his current injury, it is unlikely that he can participate in IPL 2022,” the BCCI wrote to the franchises providing a list of 44 new names that have been added to the register on their request.
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Apart from Archer and Khawaja, the new list of 44 new additions includes one from Afghanistan, five more from Australia, 11 from India, two Ireland, six from New Zealand, two from Scotland, four more from Sri Lanka and West Indies each, and seven more from South Africa, including Andile Phehlukwayo.
Archer’s struggle with injuries has denied him the chance to be included in the Marquee set comprising ten players, including Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Pat Cummins, Quinton de Kock, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Shreyas Iyer, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Shami and David Warner.
“He won’t feature in the Marquee or other sets to be presented. He will be available to be called during the accelerated auction and whoever picks him will not get a replacement player for IPL 2022 season for his place as he is already injured and unlikely to participate in IPL 2022 season,” the BCCI wrote to the franchises explaining his exclusion from the marquee list.
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