IPL 2025: Jofra Archer back on shortlist three days before mega auction

Jofra Archer. Pic/AFP

The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council has brought back into the auction pool England pacer Jofra Archer after the pacer's name was found absent from the list sent to the franchises, a report has claimed.

Just three days before the two-day Mega Auction for IPL 2025 to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a couple of days after the list of players in the auction pool was put out, it was officially confirmed to the franchises that Jofra Archer will also be available for auction, a report in ESPNcricinfo claimed on Thursday.

While the IPL governing body and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are yet to officially confirm the news, ESPNcricinfo reported that Archer has been included in the pool and the franchises will be interested to see the set which features the England pacer. Archer has set himself a base price of Rs 2 crore.

Archer, who has struggled with injuries of late, along with his England teammate Mark Wood were among the prominent names absent from the 574-player shortlist the IPL had sent to the franchises.

"ESPNcricinfo understands Archer and his representatives have been in discussions with the ECB and the BCCI this week, seeking clarification on the repercussions in the event that he was not part of the shortlist. Archer has a central contract with the ECB which runs until the end of September, giving them an element of control over his workload," the report claimed.

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Archer has not played Test cricket since 2021 but the England setup is confident that he will be back in action early next year. Though Rob Keys had told the Sunday Times that he has his fingers crossed over whether Archer could play Test cricket next summer, the pacer's decision to play IPL in April-May makes it difficult for the pacer to play domestic red-ball cricket for Sussex, which could have paved way for his return to the longer former of the game.

England Cricket Board (ECB) is in a difficult situation because if it blocks Archer's participation in IPL 2025 as it did in the previous edition, would make him unable to be part of the mini-auction next year, as per the new rules.

The IPL has introduced new regulations for this auction cycle, stipulating that players who have previously appeared in the league but do not register for a mega-auction would be unable to register for the subsequent mini-auction. A separate regulation says that a player who is signed at an auction and then withdraws without a legitimate reason will face a two-year ban.

These new rules seem to have played a role in the 29-year-old Archer, who returned to white-ball cricket during the recent series against Pakistan, has decided to enter the auction fray.

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