England are hopeful Jofra Archer can play in the T20 World Cup in June, according to managing director Rob Key.
Fast bowler Archer, 28, has not played any professional cricket since May after a recurrence of a long-standing elbow injury.
He did train with the England white-ball team on their tour of the Caribbean in December.
“Our plan is the T20 World Cup, building him up slowly,” Key told the Tailenders podcast.
“I saw him bowl in the Caribbean and it was like he’d never been away.”
Archer has been been plagued by back and elbow injuries for three years. He has not played at the highest level since last year’s Indian Premier League, with a return of the stress fracture in his right elbow causing him to miss a second successive home summer.
However, as England were playing West Indies in Archer’s native Barbados at the end of last year, he did play for his former school side without the knowledge of the England hierarchy.
Key did suggest Archer could join the England Test side on their ongoing training camp in Abu Dhabi before the Test tour of India, but it is understood the Sussex man is not in attendance.
England will defend the T20 World Cup they won in 2021 at this year’s tournament in West Indies and the USA, opening their campaign against Scotland on 4 June.
“I don’t want to get back to this thing where he plays and then goes down again,” said Key.
“He wanted to play in the IPL, but we said not this time. Hopefully the years he has missed he can add to the end of his career. He is such a talent.”
Key also called for dedicated windows to be made in the global calendar for Test cricket in order to protect the oldest and longest form of the game.
South Africa have opted to send a makeshift Test squad to New Zealand because the two-match series in February clashes with their domestic T20 competition.
“Test cricket needs to have windows,” said Key. “There was a two-month window for the Ashes last summer – that could be one. There could be one at Christmas.
“There are all of these franchise competitions, like the IPL, and there is a global white-ball competition every year. Test cricket needs a window where you can’t play anything else.
“The rest of us – England, Australia, India and the International Cricket Council in particular – need to look after the other countries.
“We have to stop being snobby about Test cricket. We have this view that you can’t play Test cricket unless you have played 150 red-ball games, or play in a certain way. No, just pick the most talented players.”
