Opening batsman for England Jason Roy has stated that he had to withdraw from the current Indian Premier League 2024 season, when he was scheduled to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in order to prioritize his “mindset and body.”
Opening batsman Jason Roy of England has stated that he had to withdraw from the current Indian Premier League 2024 season, when he was scheduled to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in order to prioritize his “mindset and body.” Due to Roy’s departure from the IPL 2024, KKR was forced to bring in Phil Salt, an English opener. After Shakib Al Hasan was declared out of the season and Shreyas Iyer was ruled out with a lower back injury, Roy joined KKR in the IPL 2023. In eight matches, Roy amassed 285 runs at a strike-rate of 151.60 and an average of 35.63, including two half-centuries.
“I believe that missing this year’s IPL was a major decision. KKR showed so much trust in me by retaining me after a good year last year and making me accessible for them throughout the year and in all other contests that I felt like I owed them a lot.
“It was a big decision, but one I made because it was my daughter’s fifth birthday, there were a few things going on, and I was exhausted from the start of my year,” Roy said on the newest episode of The Athlete’s Voice podcast.This year, after missing out on England’s team for the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup in India, Roy played SA20 with Durban’s Super Giants before representing Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in two ILT20 matches. He went on to play for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2024 PSL.”I came off the back of not playing a lot of cricket, so the previous few months have really taken it out of me. So I was extremely honest with KKR, and we have a great connection, so we were able to reach an understanding and stuff about why I wasn’t coming.
They absolutely understood, and I’m grateful to them. But I just have to put myself first, just my head and body,” he explained.
Roy’s resignation from IPL 2024 was also influenced by the experience he had two years earlier, when he was obliged to take an indefinite vacation from the game and missed IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans. “That was a major learning curve for me, being able to make judgments like I did this year, and it can appear a particular way. But it has nothing to do with anybody else.
“It’s your choice; as an adult man with a young family, I made the choice after giving it a lot of thought. He said, “A lot of thought has gone into it, and it’s become far easier to talk about and a far easier decision, just because you know, especially from past experiences, what that can do to you. I haven’t just woken up one morning and thought, ‘You know what – I actually don’t feel like getting on that flight to India.'”
