Gujarat Titans suffered a major blow ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 after star England batter Jason Roy pulled out citing the challenge of staying inside a bubble for a longer period. (More Cricket News)
The right-handed batter will also be missing the early stages of Country Championship season that kicks off April 7, confirmed Surrey in a release. The Country cricket club also added that Roy would take a “short break” from cricket to spend time with his family.
On the other hand, Gujarat Titans are yet to name a replacement for Roy, who was bought for his base price of Rs 2 crore in the auctions.
The development is a big blow to debutants Gujarat Titans as Roy was the only specialist opener picked by them apart from young Shubman Gill. This is the second time Roy pulled out of the IPL after being picked up in the auction.
He had earlier withdrawn from the 2020 edition due to personal reasons after being picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 1.5 crore. However, veteran India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, could fill in Roy’s shoes at the top as the Bengal stumper opened during his stay at Kings XI Punjab before. Australian Matthew Wade could also be an option
The IPL 2022 is set to begin on March 26 and will conclude in the last week of May. Last season, Roy had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and played a few decent knocks before carrying his form to the Pakistan Super League this year, where he turned out for the Quetta Gladiators.
The PSL too was played in a bio-secure bubble. He played only six matches for the franchise and still ended up as their highest run-corer with 303 runs at an average of 50.50 and a strike-rate of 170.22. Notably, Roy was blessed with his second child in January.
In total, Roy has scored 329 runs in 13 IPL matches at a strike rate of 129.01, which included two half-centuries, both of which came in his respective team debuts for the Delhi Daredevils and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The IPL 2022 will be a 10-team event and will take place in Mumbai and Pune.
