Watch: Jofra Archer shows off his big-hitting prowess during practice
England fast bowler Jofra Archer displayed his big-hitting skills with the bat during a practice session at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
India and England will lock horns with each other in the first of five T20Is in Ahmedabad on Friday, starting March 12. All five games will be played at the same venue owing to COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) shared a video of Jofra Archer batting in the nets. Apart from a couple of drives, the Barbados-born fast bowler launched most of the other balls over the top.
The ECB shared the video clip of Jofra Archer wielding his willow and captioned it:
“Jofra Archer range hitting. A minute of Jof teeing off.”
While the 25-year-old has made his name as a deadly fast bowler, he is no mug with the bat, In IPL 2020, Jofra Archer smashed 113 runs for Rajasthan Royals in 63 balls he faced during the tournament, doing so at a strike-rate of 179.36.
Will Jofra Archer be fit for the first T20I against India?
Jofra Archer missed the fourth Test against India due to a right elbow injury.
A few media reports have claimed that Jofra Archer could miss the T20I series against India due to his injury issues. However, according to the Daily Mail, Jofra Archer is on course to be fit for the first T20I in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The report further said that the pacer bowled in the nets both on Sunday and Monday, with the England medical team continuing to monitor his progress on a daily basis.
Jofra Archer claimed three wickets in the first Test in Chennai and one in the pink-ball game in Ahmedabad. England, however, lost the four-match Test series 3-1, as their batters succumbed to India’s spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.
While Joe Root led England in the Test matches, Eoin Morgan will take over the leadership duties for the limited-overs formats. The T20I series will be significant for both teams, as the T20 World Cup will be held in India later this year.
England T20I Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.