T20 World Cup 2021 | Definitely a shame that England don’t have Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, says Jason Roy
Ahead of England’s opening fixture against West Indies on October 23 in Dubai, Jason Roy has stated that missing Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the T20 World Cup is definitely a shame. He further added that despite missing out on a few key players, England are still favourites to win the title.
England suffered a four-wicket defeat against West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup final, and coming to the seventh edition of the tournament, the Eoin Morgan-led side will be looking to start off their campaign with a victory against the same opponent in their opening fixture on October 23 in Dubai.
England will miss the service of their key players Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer in the marquee event. Stokes, who played a major role in England’s maiden ODI World Cup victory in 2019, is away from the team citing his mental well-being and a finger injury. Archer has ruled himself out after he sustained an elbow fracture. Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Sam Curran also was ruled out from the squad with a lower-back injury, sustained during the IPL 2021.
Meanwhile, Jason Roy has stated that missing out on Stokes and Archer for the ICC mega event is definitely a shame for the team. The England opening batsman further added that despite the absence of key players on the national side, England are still hot favorites to win the T20 World Cup.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a problem — it’s a shame. It’s definitely a shame, not having those two here but you know they’re on the same path of getting fit and healthy again,” Roy, who will be turning out for Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, said during a virtual interaction here.
“You look at our depth of the squad now, the players we have, and it’s still extremely impressive. The boys showed that they have done well in the warm up game, and they’ve been training extremely hard, so I don’t think it’s a worry at all.
“We’ve got players that will definitely 100 per cent step up, rise to the occasion. They have more than enough skill. I can tell you that from training, There’s more than enough skill that can take us all the way,” Roy said.
Speaking on England’s preparation for the T20 World Cup, the 31-year-old stated that the recently-concluded IPL 2021 will definitely benefit the players in the showpiece event. He further added that players are already accustomed to the UAE pitches by taking part in the cash-rich league.
“I don’t think so. We’ve shown our skill on most tracks. The pitches aren’t horrendous, they’re just a bit slow, so that’s not a problem.
“The amount of training we’ve had, the camp we had, and then obviously a lot of the boys playing in the IPL, so there’s a lot of feedback, knowledge going around about how to combat whatever you might come across.
“So now I think the boys have the skill to combat whatever pitch was supplied with,” he asserted.
“Coming from IPL 2021 to T20 World Cup 2021 has a lot of benefits. We have a feel of things, training and playing on these pitches, spending a lot of time interacting with players from other teams. Boys who have played in the IPL have a big advantage,” Roy said.
The right-hand opening batsman is hopeful of winning matches in the Super 12 stage, and he further stated that England's top order has a lot of match-winners.
“We have been training hard, a lot of cricketers from England haven’t played much in the last few months apart from those in the IPL.
“We are all shaping up well, they are getting into the swing of things. From my point of view, every single batsman in our top order has the ability to win games. I’m very excited to see that,” he said.
England are placed alongside Australia, South Africa, and West Indies in Group 1 of the Super 12s, with two more teams to join after completion of Round 1.
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