England's T20 specialist replaces injured Jofra Archer in Mumbai Indians' squad for remainder of IPL 2023

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) announced Chris Jordan as the replacement signing for Jofra Archer, who will miss the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to injury.

SportsTak

• Tue • 09 May 2023

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) announced Chris Jordan as the replacement signing for Jofra Archer, who will miss the remainder of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to injury. Archer, who has been grappling with injuries in the last one-and-half-years, missed a bunch of games for the Men in Blue in IPL 2023. The right-arm express pacer will return to England as the country's cricket board continues to monitor his recovery and fitness.

"Chris Jordan will join the MI squad for the rest of the season. Chris replaces Jofra Archer, whose recovery and fitness continues to be monitored by ECB. Jofra will return home to focus on his rehabilitation," Mumbai Indians said in a Tweet.

Archer didn't live up to expectations as he has played just five matches in the ongoing season and missed another five contests with nagging injuries. In the ongoing season, Archer could bag only two wickets in five matches and he leaked runs at an economy rate of 9.50.

Archer’s absence from several games was due to elbow issues which have been troubling them for a while. Archer underwent a minor procedure on his right elbow mid-way through the season. The right-arm seamer flew to Belgium to meet with a specialist and underwent treatment on the same elbow that forced him to miss a ton of time last year, including the T20 World Cup and the Ashes.

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, MI had pinned their hopes on Archer. The franchise bought the right-arm pacer in the mega auction in 2022, at a time when Archer was nursing an injury. He didn't play even a single match for the five-time IPL champions in 2022.

Talking about Chris Jordan, the right-arm speedster made his IPL debut in 2016 and since then, he has played 28 matches in the cash-rich tournament. Jordan has bagged 27 wickets at an economy rate of 9.32.