Rajasthan Royals fast bowler Jofra Archer ruled out of IPL 2021, confirms ECB

Rajasthan Royals (RR) fast bowler will not play in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Friday.

Archer was one of RR's key players last season, where he picked up 20 wickets and also contributed with 200-odd runs with the bat.

"Archer returned to bowling this week with higher intensity, and the ECB and Sussex medical teams will continue to monitor his progress. Archer will now step up his training regime starting next week and will be in full training with Sussex. It is expected that he will return to cricket in the next fortnight if he can continue to bowl and prepare pain-free," read ECB's official release.

The English fast bowler suffered a cut on his hand while cleaning at his house in January. While the England medical team handled the injury throughout England's series in India, the player underwent surgery on his hand in March.

Earlier in the IPL 2021 season, Kumar Sangakkara, RR's director of sports, admitted that the side will definitely miss Archer's presence in the ongoing campaign. "Sanju and I will both agree that it's a big blow for us. Jofra is a very vital part of our make-up and not to have him is unfortunately the reality of it. We have to work around it and plan contingencies," Sangakkara said in a virtual press conference.

While RR were already without Archer, they suffered another major setback when Ben Stokes was ruled out just after the side's opening match of the IPL 2021. Stokes fracture a finger while taking a diving catch to dismiss Chris Gayle during RR's game against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Meanwhile, Stokes and Archer's compatriot Liam Livingstone recently became the first player to pull out of the IPL 2021 because of the bio-bubble fatigue just a little over a week after the tournament's commencement.

"Liam Livingstone has flown back home late last night, due to bubble fatigue accumulated over the past year. We understand and respect his decision, and will continue supporting him in any way we can," RR said in a statement on Tuesday night," RR took to social media to broke the news last week.

RR suffered a crushing 10-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Mumbai on Thursday. After four matches in the IPL 2021, RR have fallen to the bottom of the table, having won just one game.