Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have brought in England opener Jason Roy to strengthen their squad following the injury of regular captain Shreyas Iyer and the withdrawal of Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Though Roy will miss KKR’s home Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday, he will be available for selection for the team’s next match against Gujarat Titans on April 9.
Roy is likely to replace Afghanistan’s wicket-keeper batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who scored 22 off 16 balls when he opened the innings for the team against Punjab Kings. The two-time IPL champions were dealt a blow when Iyer was ruled out for the entire season due to a back injury while Shakib opted out citing personal and national commitments.
KKR said in a statement on Wednesday, “Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Jason Roy of England for Tata IPL 2023 for Rs 2.8 crore, whose ‘base price’ is Rs 1.5 crore.” Roy first played in the T20 league for Gujarat Lions in the 2017 edition of the IPL and last played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2021 season. Roy played five matches in 2021 in which he scored 150 runs including a half-century. The 32-year-old has played 64 T20 Internationals for England, scoring 1,522 runs which includes eight half-centuries.
