IPL 2023: Jason Roy expresses excitement on joining Kolkata Knight Riders

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], April 5 : After being signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, England batter Jason Roy expressed his excitement at joining the two-time champions on Wednesday.
The official Twitter handle of KKR shared a special message of thanks by Jason with the fans.
"Jason Roy here. I just wanted to say, how excited I am to put the KKR jersey on in this year's IPL. Very excited to be up there and join a very great squad and a great management team. Thank you for the opportunity. I will see you all very very soon," said Jason in a video posted by KKR.
This IPL will be a great opportunity for Roy to overcome his inconsistent form and establish himself as a contender for a spot in England's 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup squad. England will be defending their 50-over crown in India from October-November this year.
He did have a great 2022. In 11 T20Is, he scored 206 runs at an average of 18.72 with only one fifty. Overall, he had scored only 541 runs in 23 matches across all formats at an average of over 25 with a century and two fifties.
In six innings for England across all formats this year, he has scored two centuries and a total of 278 runs at an average of 46.33, with the best score of 132*. However, he has not done anything noteworthy in the other four innings.
He also featured in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) this year, scoring 245 runs in seven innings at an average of 40.83, with one century and the best score of 145*.
In the 2022 mega auction, Jason Roy was bought by Gujarat Titans, but did not feature in the tournament due to personal reasons. After being released ahead of IPL 2023 auction in December 2022, he went unsold.
In 13 IPL matches throughout his career for sides like Gujarat Lions, Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, Jason has scored 329 runs in 13 matches at an average of 29.91, with two fifties and the best score of 91.
Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday announced English batter Jason Roy will join the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the current season.
Roy has been brought in after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the League due to a lower back injury. Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is also not playing this season for the Shahrukh Khan-owed team.
"Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed England's Jason Roy for INR 2.8 crore for the IPL 2023 from his base price of INR 1.5 crore," IPL said in a statement today.
Roy who featured in IPL 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.
Roy is considered to be one of the most dangerous T20I opening batters and he could provide the explosiveness that KKR needs during the powerplay.
KKR lost their opening match against PBKS by 7 runs (DLS method), Roy's presence in that match could have certainly changed the dimension of that game. In the chase of 192, KKR was off to a poor start. Pacer Arshdeep Singh shook Kolkata's batting line-up by giving them a double blow. He dismissed Mandeep Singh (2) and Anukul Roy (4) for cheap, reducing KKR to 17/2 in 2 overs. Roy's job would be not to let KKR fall in such situations.
KKR will be back in action against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at their home ground Eden Gardens.