'Not Having Jofra Archer is Certainly...,' Mark Boucher Speaks his Mind Out

image-lgjfc7rfJofra Archer has played just one game in IPL 2023 (AP Photo)

Mumbai Indians head coach Mark Boucher has admitted that not having the services of their pace spearhead, Jofra Archer, has proved to be a setback for them in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.

After missing out on the entire season last year due to injury, Archer was expected to spearhead the five-time champions bowling attack this time around, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

However, Archer's return was short-lived as he has not been able to play a single game after MI's opening game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Archer, who was hammered by RCB's opening duo of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli in that game, injured his elbow during a training session ahead of Mumbai's clash against the Chennai Super Kings.

Speaking to the host broadcaster during MI v KKR at the Wankhede on Sunday afternoon, Boucher admitted the same. He was also asked about the exact timeline of Archer's return, to which he replied that it will take at least two more games for the Caribbean-born English international to take the field.

Here's what Mark Boucher said:

"Jofra is still recovering a bit. It's getting him ready for more couple of games to come. Jof is obviously a massive part of the MI setup. Not having him in the field is certainly not a great thing for us. The medical team is working really hard with him and getting him ready."

Meanwhile, MI handed debut caps to Duan Jansen and Arjun Tendulkar on Saturday. Rohit Sharma also didn't captain the team due to a stomach bug, but he eventually opened the innings as an Impact Substitute.

At the time of writing, MI had moved on to 125/2 in the 12th over in response to KKR's 185/6.