‘Isko bas bench garam karne ke liye rakha hai’ – Fans react as Jofra Archer misses game against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023

After winning the last fixture against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 7 runs, Gujarat Titans (GT) locked horns against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The MI skipper, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. The biggest news from the toss was that Jofra Archer would miss the game as he is unwell.

In the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League, the star England pacer missed his fifth game out of the seven games his team has played so far in the ongoing tournament. When MI purchased Archer in the 2022 mega auction, they knew very well that the pacer would not be participating in the cash-rich league last season. Archer, one of the most dangerous bowlers in the world, entered the competition after missing the last one.

We had a chat in the dressing room and the boys are up for it tonight: Rohit Sharma

On Tuesday, April 25, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma gave an update at the toss, saying that Riley Meredith, an Australian pacer, will take the Archer’s spot for the game.

“We are going to bowl first. Yes, that’s what we thought and there is moisture in it and we want to be making use of the conditions and make sure we get early wickets and chase it down. Games like that happen, it’s important how we bounce back and going forward how we bounce back. We had a chat in the dressing room and the boys are up for it tonight. We have two changes: Hrithik Shokeen makes way for Kumar Kartikeya and Jofra is not well and replacing him is Riley Meredith,” Rohit was quoted as saying after winning the toss.

Archer has struggled with problems with his bowling elbow and stress fractures in his back. The fast bowler, who had been in England’s care, made a late-year comeback to international cricket in South Africa. Jofra had a bad IPL 2023 season debut, giving up runs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. After missing many games following that, the player returned to action against Punjab Kings, where MI lost by 13 runs thanks to outstanding performances from Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh.

Here’s how fans reacted on Jofra Archer missing games for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023:

https://twitter.com/sachinq518/status/1650855709293285377

https://twitter.com/cricketfansena/status/1650856862139691015

https://twitter.com/darabsi13463487/status/1650857906013876227

Faltu ke IPL me pick kar liya jofra ko.. unfit hai jab se aaya hai

— Abhinav singh (@Abhinav_tmk) April 25, 2023

https://twitter.com/Rodony_/status/1650856423444865025

https://twitter.com/nickhunterr/status/1650857424155480067

8 करोड़ का मरीज खरीदा है मुकेश के लौंडे ने

— How Dare You Isolated Monk ? (@IsolatedMonk) April 25, 2023

और एक मरीज़ है जो बीसीसीआई से भी पैसे खाता है

— Atul (@dikhhat_hai_) April 25, 2023