Jofra Archer: Rob Key says England 'plan' to have fast bowler as part of T20 World Cup defence later this year

Rob Key, the managing director of the England men's cricket team, believes Jofra Archer is on course to feature at this year's T20 World Cup.

Jos Buttler's side will be attempting to defend the crown they lifted in Australia in 2022, when they head to the United States and Caribbean in June.

Having Archer available would be a huge boost, given the fast bowler hasn't played any competitive cricket since May.

But Key hopes the long-standing elbow issue that has ruled him out for the last eight months will soon be a thing of the past.

"I don't want to get back to this thing where he plays and then goes down again," he said in quotes carried by BBC Sport.

"He wanted to play in the IPL, but we said not this time. Hopefully the years he has missed he can add to the end of his career. He is such a talent."

Archer has suffered from a string of fitness issues over the last four years, with discomfort in his elbow dating back to 2020.

A year later, he had to pull out of the 2021 IPL after getting glass from a fish tank in his hand, before being ruled out of the majority of 2022 due to a stress fracture in his back.

After a near two-year absence from international cricket, he returned for England's white-ball series in South Africa and Bangladesh last year, only for the elbow problem to return at the IPL.

That means he missed the Ashes last summer, as well as the defence of the One Day International World Cup in India in the autumn.

However, he has been reportedly close to a return on numerous occasions, and actually travelled to the Caribbean with the white-ball squad before Christmas. Although he didn't play for his country, he did manage to turn out for his old school team - not that Key knew about it.

He won't be part of Ben Stokes' Test team as they tour India over the next couple of months, but Key has confirmed white ball cricket is very much on the radar in the immediate future.

"Our plan is the T20 World Cup, building him up slowly," he added.

"I saw him bowl in the Caribbean and it was like he'd never been away."

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