Jofra Archer, who hasn't competed for England in almost a year, is also vying for a spot in the T20I series against Pakistan at home the following month. For the past three years, the 29-year-old has suffered from injuries, including stress fractures. The bowler has only made seven appearances for England since March 2021. Last year, he made five appearances in the Indian Premier League for the Mumbai Indians, taking just a few wickets.
Even with the losses, England remains optimistic that Archer will reach his peak again. In addition to receiving a two-year contract from the ECB, he was a traveling reserve for the ODI World Cup in India the previous year. But Key is hesitant to hurry the fast bowler since that could lead to complications once more. Key further stated that Archer's main concentration will be on white-ball cricket in 2024 and that he will not be participating in Test cricket this year. However, the goal is for Archer to play his first Test match against India in the summer of 2025.
"Jofra has been out with Sussex in India for pre-season and bowled quickly out there, he bowled well," Key told Sky Sports. "He has now gone back to the Caribbean where he's going to play a bit of club cricket, all about getting himself ready for that T20 World Cup. He'll hopefully play the Pakistan series, but it's always fingers-crossed at the moment with Jofra."
"What we're going to do is take it slower rather than trying to go too quickly so that we get him back for not just a short period but we get him for a long period," he highlighted
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