Mumbai Indians on Saturday (April 29) confirmed that Jofra Archer, in fact, visited Belgium for a "minor surgery". There is, however, no clarity on when did the visit and surgery happen, a subject that became a hot topic of debate in the cricket world with the player himself chiming in. "Yes, he was (in Belgium for surgery)," Mark Boucher, the coach of Mumbai Indians, said, coming clean on the matter. "I believe it was a minor surgery," the South African said on the eve of Mumbai Indians' match against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede. Archer apparently went only for a day but Boucher would not know the timing. "I have things to look after," he said.
A few days ago, when a report surfaced citing an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) source that Jofra Archer visited a doctor in Belgium for surgery, the cricketer didn’t take it lightly and in fact, made a social media post slamming the report. "Putting out an article without knowing the facts & without my consent is crazy. Whoever the reporter is, shame on you, an already worrying and troubling time for a player and you exploit it for your personal gain, it's people like you that are the problem (sic)," Archer had said in a social media post. "You're making it sound like the ECB told him and he published it when that is not what happened. So, unless you know something that I don't please shed some light (sic).""We all know what Jofra can do. He's been a fantastic bowler for many years now. So, he adds a different dimension to our attack. Obviously, some good pace. He can bowl with the new ball and he's very good at the death as well. It (death overs) is one area where we've struggled a bit. So, he can hopefully come in and fulfil that role, bowling in those situations," the MI coach said. MI are currently at the ninth position in the points table with only three wins but have an extra game in hand compared to other teams. They will have soon have to start winning game to have any chance of making it to the top four. However, it will not be an easy task for them against the Rajasthan Royals who have been on a roll with five wins from 8 matches.
