Going through a lot of injuries and the absence of players due to personal issues, the Kolkata Knight Riders have tried to provide their side with a major boost by signing England’s blaster opener Jason Roy for INR 2.8 crore on Wednesday.
KKR did not elaborate on whether Roy will be available for their IPL home game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday.
The two-time IPL champions were dealt a huge injury blow when Iyer was ruled out for the entire season due to a back injury, while Shakib pulled out citing personal and national commitments.
“Kolkata Knight Riders have signed England’s Jason Roy for Rs. 2.8 crore for the TATA IPL 2023, from his base price of Rs. 1.5 crore,” said KKR in a statement on Wednesday.
Roy, who first appeared in the 2017 edition of the IPL for the Gujarat Lions, 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 1,522 runs at a strike-rate of 137.61 with eight fifties.
Roy is likely to replace Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who opened in their match against Punjab Kings and scored 22 from 16 balls. The purple brigade already have N Jagadeesan to don the gloves.
