‘It would be naive’ to play Jofra during WC: Morgan

NEW DELHI: Former captain Eoin Morgan has cautioned England against adding Jofra Archer into the team midway through the 2023 ICC World Cup, saying that it would be “naive” to think that Jos Buttler-side should call on Archer, who has not played since May into the line-up.

Archer was part of the team that won the ODI World Cup in 2019 against New Zealand at Lord’s, where he bowled a thrilling Super Over, apart from being the side’s leading wicket-taker in the competition. Since then, the Barbados-born seamer has played only seven ODIs due to numerous fitness issues, keeping him frequently in the treatment room. He hasn’t competed since the IPL in May.

“It’s not something that I’m thinking would be a good idea. He’s not played and we don’t know what he’s ca-pable of. Obviously, the feedback when he’s trained with the team has been that he’s back bowling beautifully, but you would like to see that in a game. Given the injury issues that he’s had in recent times I think it would be naive of anybody to think just chuck him in whenever you can,” Morgan, who is a World Cup ambassador, was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

Archer is scheduled to join the England squad in Mumbai next week as their sole designated reserve player for the tournament. During England’s ODI series against New Zealand last month, he participated in training sessions, showcasing his bowling abilities.

Additionally, he has been actively engaged in bowling sessions at Hove as part of his rehabilitation.

The former captain also played down the likelihood of Archer featuring soon and said: “For him to play there needs to be quite a significant injury. “We’re only a week into the tournament, so it would need to be a six-week injury to a bowler.” (IANS)

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