‘Players like Jofra might not have played for England if…’: Captain Ben Stokes responds to criticism of Archer’s IPL stint

England captain Ben Stokes is handed the ball by Jofra Archer (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) England captain Ben Stokes has backed fast bowler Jofra Archer amid criticism for his absence from the opening Test against New Zealand. Archer will miss the first match of the series at Lord’s after recently completing his IPL commitments with Rajasthan Royals, who made it to the play-offs before being dropped.The pacer’s unavailability has drawn criticism from some former players and pundits who believe England should be his top priority given his central contract with the national team. Questions have also been raised as to whether Archer will be fit and available for the second Test later this month.Stokes acknowledged that some fans and former cricketers may be frustrated, but said modern cricket is very different to what it was years ago as players now have the opportunity to play in franchise leagues around the world.“A lot of the points that people would make around Jof and that situation I think has to do with the landscape when they played,” Stokes said. “It’s completely different now. There are opportunities for cricketers now that weren’t there 10, 15, 20 years ago. Yes, in an ideal situation it would be incredibly great to have everyone you want, to have every single opportunity available. But that’s not the way of cricket at the moment. There’s so much more to the players.”The England captain stressed that the cricket landscape has changed and teams need to adapt rather than expecting players to always be available.Stokes also warned that mishandling situations like Archer’s could put talented players off international cricket altogether.“There is a situation where it could get messed up and players like Jofra might not play for England again if you handled it differently,” Stokes said, “and that’s not good for anybody.“Jof, I think, has shown that he’s committed and loves playing for England. Not being available for this first Test match doesn’t change that.”Archer is currently taking a short break before being evaluated for the remaining games in the series.