KKR has signed Jason Roy© BCCI/Sportzpics
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have announced the signing of England opener Jason Roy after all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan decided to withdraw from the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. According to an IPL release, Roy has been signed for INR 2.8 crore for the IPL season 16 from his base price of INR 1.5 crore. Shakib was the second major player out of the entire campaign after skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out with an injury.
Knight Riders, two-time champions, only signed one player in the form of Roy, but two players – Shakib and Iyer – were ruled out in recent days. It has not yet been confirmed if the franchise is looking for a replacement for skipper Iyer.
Roy, who previously played in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, last played in the 2021 season for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In 2021, he played five games and scored 150 points, including half a century. The 32-year-old has played 64 T20Is for England, scoring 1522 runs at a strike rate of 137.61 with 8 fifties.
Shakib, the all-rounder of the first Bangladeshi Prime Minister, withdrew from the tournament due to family reasons and international commitments and the next day, regular Iyer, who is also their mainstay, was banned from the entire IPL as he will undergo surgery to treat his back injury.
KKR had made Nitish Rana their replacement skipper, assuming their regular skipper would be back in the second half of the season, but with Iyer completely ruled out, the Chandrakant Pandit-coached side could face a leadership crisis.
‘Casual’ skipper Rana, who has experience leading Delhi in white-ball cricket, has a big task ahead of him as the team desperately seeks solace in his lair.
The Knight Riders will seek the comforts of home and try to get back to winning ways as they take on a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL next.
With PTI inputs
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