England pacer Jofra Archer, whose career has been plagued by injuries to his elbow and lower back, is looking forward to his comeback in 2023.

“2022 thank you. 2023 I’m ready,” Archer took to Twitter to announce his return. Having bought him for Rs 8 crore, Mumbai Indians sorely missed the injured speedster last season. The record five-time IPL champions may finally hope to see Archer forming a dream pace pair with Jasprit Bumrah in this year’s IPL.

Mumbai Indians have also signed Archer for their Cape Town franchise in the inaugural SA20, South Africa’s new T20 league.

Archer, who was England’s leading wicket-taker in their 2019 ODI World Cup triumph, last played an international game in March 2021.

His problematic right elbow injury, which has troubled him for more than two years, kept him out of the T20 World Cup, which England won under Jos Buttler’s captaincy, and the Ashes series as well. The injuries and the surgeries were not only painful physically, it also took a mental toll.

In May last year, Archer had revealed how the elbow injury left him in a “dark place”. At that time, he was unsure when he could return to action for England.

In his column in the Daily Mail in May 2022, Archer had said: “I find myself in an unfamiliar place... from a fitness perspective.

“As for Test cricket this summer, I simply haven’t thought that far ahead. I’ve not had any prompts from anyone, telling me I’m a one-format player as yet. I still want to play everything.”

Archer, who has played in 13 Tests, 17 ODIs and 12 T20Is for England, had first suffered a stress reaction in his elbow on the 2019-20 tour to South Africa. The injury flared up again in the summer of 2020 during England’s tour of India. Thereafter he underwent multiple corrective surgeries.

“Having gone into a dark place last summer after the first op, I can see why when people are not on the good side of situations like this, they sometimes have a downward spiral in terms of mental health. It’s natural for anyone to worry about the future in that kind of situation,” Archer had said, giving the world a peek into his mind.

A fit-again Archer was seen in action in Abu Dhabi in November when he trained there with the England Test squad. He also hit Zak Crawley on the head with a sharp bouncer in the first of his nine overs.

After the inaugural SA20 in January, Archer will play for England in the ODI series against South Africa beginning on January 27. He will then be seen in action in a limited-overs tour of Bangladesh followed by the IPL. It remains to be seen how his body and mind respond to the challenges ahead.

Written with PTI inputs