MI captain had said “one injury” before quickly changing his reply to “not an injury actually, more of a precaution” when asked about Archer’s absence. However, Boucher has now given a more clear picture on the nature of injury.
“He (Archer) has picked up a little niggle, and we have a fantastic medical team looking after him. He’s obviously a massive player for us as well, so hopefully, you know they can pass him fit sometime soon.
“We will always look after the player, so if he’s not ready to put his hand at play, then we’ll look after him as well. But we’re following the medical advice from our team at the moment. So yeah, hopefully, he’s up for selection pretty soon,” Boucher said in the post-match press conference.
Archer made his Mumbai Indians debut on April 2 in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He failed to take any wickets and leaked 33 runs in four overs. Virat Kohli faced 17 deliveries from Archer and scored 28 runs at a strike rate of 164.7.
The 28-year-old was out of international cricket for nearly two years before making his comeback against South Africa this year. He underwent two operations after he felt discomfort in his right elbow in 2021. He then suffered a lower-back stress fracture during his rehabilitation.
A report in ESPNcricinfo has said that Archer hasn’t bowled even in the nets after his outing against RCB. Mumbai Indians play their next match against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, April 11.
