Rajasthan Royals revealed that the ace English cricketer Joe Root will not be playing in the Indian Premier League 2024 season on Saturday, November 25. Root joins his national teammate Ben Stokes who also decided to withdraw his name from the IPL 2024 on Thursday.
The 32-year-old batter was signed by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1 crore during the IPL 2023 auction. The former English captain made only three appearances for the Royals last season and scored 10 runs in one innings. Root's decision comes as no surprise as he is expected to focus more on red-ball cricket in 2024.
“During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024," Kumar Sangakkara, the team's Director of Cricket said. "Even in a short span of time, Joe was able to create such a positive impact on the franchise and the players around him. His energy around the group and the experience he brought to the Royals will be missed. We respect his decision totally and wish him success in everything he does.”
"Joe Root's addition to the Royals squad brought in plenty of depth and experience, which served as a learning experience for a lot of youngsters in the side like Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team. His camaraderie with his England teammate Jos Buttler and his bonding with Yuzvendra Chahal was also one of the memorable highlights of the former England Test skipper's stint with the Royals," RR's statement said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rajasthan Royals lost batter Devdutt Padikkal to Lucknow Super Giants and signed pacer Avesh Khan in trade. The Royals will be looking for batting reinforcements during the next month's player auction in Dubai scheduled to take place on December 19.
Rajasthan Royals narrowly missed out on a top-four finish last season with seven wins in 14 games. Sanju Samson-led side was impressive in the early stages but struggled to defend the lead despite having a strong squad. Root also struggled to find a regular place in the team with Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult, Jason Holder and Adam Zampa competing for four overseas slots.
