England speedster Jofra Archer will travel with the national team to India as a reserve player ahead of the 2023 World Cup squad. The right-arm paceman was not included in the 15-player final squad due to his ongoing elbow injury and will continue working on his fitness.
Archer's elbow injury resurfaced during his IPL 2023 stint with the Mumbai Indians, forcing him return home early from India. On assessment, the Barbadian was ruled out of the entire summer, including the 2023 Ashes series. The 28-year-old, who played an integral role in England's 2019 World Cup win, marked his return to top-level cricket earlier this year in SA20 before injury derailed his career again.
England men's team's chief selector Luke Wright said they hope to use Archer as an injury replacement if the situation arises in India. As quoted by the official website, he said:
"The best thing for Jofra is to travel with the team and keep working with his rehab and being around the physios and the team. We are doing all we can to get him ready to be as good as he can be. If there was an injury he might be able to replace at the back end of the tournament but obviously we are still working on his fitness day-by-day and we'll have to keep accessing that"
Jason Roy misses out as England finalise their 2023 World Cup squad:
Meanwhile, on Friday, England finalised their 15-member squad for the showpiece event, beginning on October 5th in India. Experienced opener Jason Roy's omission was a dramatic call as the selectors chose the young Harry Brook in his place.
England's 15-member squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
