IPL 2023 | Kolkata Knight Riders rope in Jason Roy amidst unavailability of two key players

04/05/2023

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After two of their key players were ruled out from the IPL 2023, Kolkata Knight Riders have acquired the services of Jason Roy for the upcoming fixture, The England opener was signed for a value of INR 2.8 Crores after getting no takers in the bidding process held in December 2022.

It is a time of crisis for a franchise in the IPL when their key players miss the tournament due to injuries, international duties or other reasons. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had suffered the same fate going into IPL 2023 as they were going to miss Shreyas Iyer due to a back injury. Shakib Al Hasan also informed the team management that he is going to miss the tournament due to personal commitments and it added to their woes. However, the team has brought in Jason Roy and the opener might provide a rapid start at the top.

KKR acquired the services of Roy for a price tag of INR 2.8 Crores which is almost double the base price of INR 1.5 Crores. The Englishman has experience of playing 13 IPL matches, scoring 329 runs with a strike rate of 129.01. After suffering a defeat in their first game, the team will hope that Roy will add some firepower to the batting unit.

“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. Roy, who earlier featured in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, last played in the 2021 season for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2021, he played five games, scoring 150 runs including a half-century. The 32-year-old has played 64 T20Is for England, scoring 1522 runs at a Strike Rate of 137.61 with 8 fifties,” the official release revealed.

KKR will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at Eden Gardens and the team would like to exploit the home conditions in the game.