Credit: twitter
After the withdrawal of star players like Shreyas Iyer due to back injury and Shakib Al Hasan over international commitments, Kolkata Knight Riders have signed England opener Jason Roy for INR 2.8 crore for the IPL 2023, the cricket league confirmed on Wednesday, April 5.
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The IPL released a statement that read, "Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed England’s Jason Roy for INR 2.8 crore for the TATA IPL 2023 from his base price of INR 1.5 crore. Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the tournament owing to a lower back injury while Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed his unavailability for the season."
The 32-year-old Roy last played in the 2021 season for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 150 runs including a half-century in five matches for the franchise. In his 64 T20Is for England, Roy scored 1522 runs at a strike rate of 137.61 with eight fifties.
Nitish Rana-led KKR faced a seven-run loss via DLS method to PBKS in their campaign opener and will look to bounce back in the competition as they are next scheduled to host the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first home match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata after almost four years.
However, the English opener will not join the KKR squad for Thursday's clash against RCB as he will be available for their next fixture against defending champions Gujarat Titans on Sunday, April 9.