London: England opener Jason Roy confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be playing for his franchise Gujarat Titans in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) to spend some “quality time” with his family.
Earlier, a report had said that Roy had pulled out of the tournament “citing the challenge of staying in the tournament bubble for an extended period”.
The 31-year-old Roy, who was signed by the Titans for his base price of Rs two crore at the IPL mega auction barely a fortnight ago, had informed the franchise of his decision to quit last week, a report in espncricinfo said on Tuesday.
Later, the cricketer took to Instagram to convey the decision to his fans.
“Hi everyone, especially the Gujarat Titans fans and squad. It’s with a heavy heart I have decided to pull out of this year’s tournament. I want to thank the management and the captain Hardik (Pandya) for putting your faith in me and picking me in the auction.
“However, with everything going on in the world over the last 3 years it’s added up and taken its toll on me. I feel it’s only right I spend some quality time with my family. As well as spending time working on myself and my game over the next couple of months leading into a very busy year. I will be following each game of the Titans and backing them to lift the trophy in their first year of the tournament,” wrote Roy.
“Thank you everyone for the continued support and I hope you can all respect and appreciate my decision,” added Roy.
The report said that the Titans are yet to finalise a replacement.
Roy had played for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2021.
The report said that Roy, who played in the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) emerging as one of the top run-getters in the tournament for Quetta Gladiators, reportedly took the decision due a longer IPL season this time around.
The England cricketer’s pull-out from the IPL could hurt the franchise as he was in sublime form in the PSL, where, despite playing just six games for the Gladiators, he still managed to score 303 runs at an average of 50.50 and a strike rate of 170.22. Roy slammed two half-centuries and a hundred, but the Gladiators finished fifth in the six-team league.
In 2020, Roy was picked by Delhi Capitals for a base price of Rs 1.5 crore but opted out citing personal reasons.
This year’s IPL league phase will take place in Mumbai and Pune and the teams will once again be confined to bio-bubbles throughout the duration of the tournament, which will run from March 26 till May 29.
Roy had earlier represented Gujarat Lions (2017), Delhi Daredevils (2018) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2021). Roy has a total of 329 IPL runs in 13 matches at an average of 29.90 and a strike rate of 129.01.
