One of the finest overseas pacers to have played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Jofra Archer, has registered himself for the mega auction ahead of the 2022 season. The decision comes as a surprise considering Archer's ongoing injury issues. The England pacer has enlisted his name for the auction scheduled on February 12 and 13. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed it to the franchises on Tuesday (February 1). The Barbados-born England pacer has chosen a base price of INR 2 crore.
However, the BCCI has told the IPL franchises that the 26-year-old pacer's participation in this year's IPL is doubtful considering his injury status. His name has been added to the auction because the England and Wales Cricket (ECB) informed the BCCI that he is will play in the 2023 and 2024 seasons of IPL.
"The ECB has registered Archer for the auction with a view to potential participation in 2023 and 2024, as due to his current injury it is unlikely that he can participate in IPL 2022," the BCCI wrote to the franchises providing a list of 44 new names that has been added to the register. This has been done on the request of the franchises.
Archer has played 35 IPL matches so far and has picked 46 wickets at economy of 7.13 and a best 3/15. Archer first played in the IPL in 2018 and has represented Rajasthan Royals since then.
'Pick Archer at your own risk'
The BCCI has also informed the teams that Archer will not be considered as a Marquee player in view of his limited availability and a replacement will not be granted for the 2022 season either.
"He won't feature in the Marquee or other sets to be presented. He will be available to be called during the accelerated auction and whoever picks him will not get a replacement player for IPL 2022 season for his place as he is already injured and unlikely to participate in IPL 2022 season," the BCCI wrote.
Among other prominent names that have been added to the 44-player list are the likes of Usman Khawaja, Andile Phehlukwayo, etc. The 15th edition of the IPL will feature 10 teams who will have 590 cricketers, including 220 overseas players. A total of 1214 players had registered for the IPL 2022 auction. But now, the list has been trimmed down to 590.
