Kolkata Knight Riders announced the signing of England’s Jason Roy, for the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season on Wednesday, 5 April. The opening batter, who had a base price of Rs 1.5 crore in the auction, has been roped in for Rs 2.8 crore by the two-time title-winning franchise.
The Knight Riders are dealing with two key absentees this season, in their skipper, Shreyas Iyer, and Bangladeshi all-rounder, Shakib Al Hasan. Iyer, who was signed for Rs 12.25 ahead of IPL 2022, is nursing a lower back injury and has been ruled out of both this competition, and the upcoming ICC World Test Championship 2021-23 final.
IPL 2023: KKR's skipper, Shreyas Iyer is ruled out of the season with a lower back injury.
(Photo: BCCI)
Shakib, on the other hand, was bought in this season’s auction, for his base price of Rs 1.50 crore. However, availability proved to be a major stumbling block for the veteran all-rounder, with Bangladesh currently playing a one-off Test against Ireland, with an ODI series scheduled for May.
Hence, the player and the team decided to part ways, leaving KKR management with the task of finding two replacements.
Jason Roy – An Experienced Figure in IPL
Roy, KKR’s latest acquisition, is a known name in this tournament, having represented three teams across as many seasons previously. His first IPL experience was back in the 2017 season, wherein representing the now-disbanded franchise, Gujarat Lions, he scored 59 runs in three matches.
IPL 2023: Jason Roy has represented three IPL franchises previously.
(Photo: BCCI)
The 32-year-old was then signed by Delhi Capitals, then known as Delhi Daredevils, for the 2018 season. It proved to be a much better campaign than the previous edition, as he scored 120 runs in five matches, including a half-century.
He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 and scored 150 runs in five matches, hitting one half-century in this instalment as well. Roy was signed by the defending champions, Gujarat Titans, in the IPL 2022 auction. However, the batter withdrew his participation, citing personal reasons.
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