England's injured pacer Jofra Archer ruled out of IPL, T20 World Cup

England pacer Jofra Archer was ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL), T20 World Cup and The Ashes later this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Thursday.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board can confirm that England fast bowler Jofra Archer underwent further scans on his injured right elbow last week. The scans revealed that he has suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture of his right elbow. In response to these findings, he has been ruled out for the rest of the year and will miss the current LV= Insurance Test series against India, the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes series in Australia," the ECB said in an official release.

With the ongoing five-match Test series against India, T20 World Cup and The Ashes Down Under, 2021 is a massive year for England and Archer's absence will definitely be felt.

Archer, who was a part of the England squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup, underwent a surgery in May to remove a bone fragment from his elbow. He returned to action only last month.

"As part of his return-to-bowling programme, he became aware of increasing discomfort in his elbow during matches for Sussex in the Vitality Blast and a 50-over friendly against Oxfordshire. The operation is not related to the stress fracture that sidelined the player previously. He will now spend time on an extended break from cricket before returning for a medical review in early autumn," ECB's release further read.

England are also without the services of Ben Stokes, who has taken an indefinite break to "prioritise his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month."