Kolkata Knight Riders will face Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 6. Before this clash big news come from franchise Jason Roy enter Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2023. After holding out for long, Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Jason Roy as a replacement for the injured skipper Shreyas Iyer.
England’s Roy joins KKR for Rs 2.8 crore from his base price of Rs 1.5 crore. The decision comes after KKR were delivered a double blow early into the season. Iyer, suffering back spasms and issues, is reportedly set to travel to the UK for a procedure and will miss the entire league. The India batter is also likely to miss the World Test Championship final against Australia in June.
Also out of contention is Bangladesh’s experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Roy’s last appearance in the IPL came in the 2021 season where he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad. That season he played five matches, scoring 150 runs including a fifty. He has earlier played the 2017 and 2018 seasons of the Indian Premier League.
On the international front, Jason Roy, 32, has played 64 T20Is for England, scoring 1522 runs at a strike rate of 137.61 with eight fifties. KKR began the season with a 7-run defeat against Punjab Kings in a rain curtailed contest. Two-time champions Kolkata will be at home against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in their next outing.
It was earlier reported that Iyer is expected to be out of action for at least three months as he’s set to undergo a back surgery. He’s also expected to miss the final of the ICC World Test Championship slated to be played in June. Iyer has been troubled by the back injury since he returned home from the Bangladesh tour.
Before the start of the ongoing IPL, he was ruled out from the first half of the season with KKR announcing Nitish Rana as their interim-captain for the duration of his absence. Iyer was at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and expected to start his rehabilitation there giving KKR hope of his availability at some point.
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However, reportedly the 28-year-old was unable to train following which he took the decision to undergo surgery. KKR began their season with a defeat to Punjab Kings Mohali. They will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in what will be their first home game of the season.
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