Jofra Archer to enter Indian Premier League auction

Jofra Archer will be in the Indian Premier League auction after initially being left off the shortlist.

The England fast bowler was entered on the longlist, then not among the 574 names published to go under the hammer last week.

It was unclear why Archer appeared to have withdrawn, though there looks to have been some confusion over his future IPL prospects had he not been part of the auction in Saudi Arabia on 24 and 25 November.

New rules state any player who has previously featured in the IPL, as Archer has, would be ruled out of the competition for two years had they not entered.

The 29-year-old has endured a long battle with injuries dating back to 2020, but has been carefully managed by England since suffering a setback to an elbow problem last summer.

He has been a consistent part of the England white-ball set-up since May and has stated his desire to return to Test cricket, having not played in the longest format for almost four years.

But if Archer is picked up by an IPL team, a scenario that seems likely given his status as one of the premier pacemen in the world, his route back to Test cricket looks harder.

Archer would have to prove his fitness in the County Championship for Sussex, but the early rounds of the season clash with the IPL.

If Archer does not play domestic red-ball cricket at the beginning of the summer, it harms his chances of returning in a home Test in 2025, and casts doubt on a potential role in next winter’s Ashes in Australia.

All of England’s centrally contracted players were permitted to enter the auction.

Archer would become the 38th English player in the auction, joining white-ball captain Jos Buttler and 42-year-old James Anderson.

Anderson, England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, has never played in an overseas franchise league.

Test captain Ben Stokes, Archer’s fellow fast bowler Mark Wood and batter Joe Root are all absent from the auction.