Jason Roy is among the English cricketers considering terminating their contract with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play in USA's upcoming T20 franchise cricket tournament Major Cricket League (MLC). Roy is looking to negotiate a release from his ECB contract as he is looking for a lucrative offer to play in the inaugural season which will take place in July this year.
England's domestic cricket schedule clash with MLC's window and ECB is unlikely to give No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to centrally contracted players. Ongoing T20 Blast has semi-final and final fixtures scheduled on July 15 and The Hundred 2023, England's premier T20 tournament, kick starts on August 1. English board is hoping to involve their start cricketers in its own tournaments but Roy is considering playing in MLC.
Reece Topley, Roy's teammate at Surrey, is also considering terminating his contract with ECB. But the pacer is yet to confirm his decision as he suffered a shoulder injury while playing in the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) for Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both Roy and Topley are bound with an incremental contract with ECB worth around £66,000 per year. Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Matthew Potts, and David Willey are also involved in such deals with ECB for the 2022-23 cycle.
But Roy has been reportedly offered a £300,000 two-year contract to play in Major Cricket League and the player is looking to accept it as he is not part of England's regular T20I squad. Roy missed the England squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 but remains in the fold for the ODI team. With the ODI World Cup 2023 happening in a few months, a decision to walk out from the ECB contract will definitely hamper the opener's chances to make the team.
Jason Roy to play for LA Knight Rider in MLC
It has been reported by ESPNcricinfo that Roy is expected to play for LA Knight Riders in MLC 2023. Los Angeles-based franchise is owned by Knight Riders Group, who also won two-time IPL winners Kolkata Knight Riders and teams in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and International T20 League (ILT20). Roy is understood to have held discussions with KKR during IPL 2023 and has been offered to consider a contract from LA Knight Riders to play in MLC.
Apart from KKR, IPL giants Mumbai Indians (New York) and Chennai Super Kings (Texas) also own teams in MLC. The league has already managed to attract some of the biggest names in T20 cricket including Aaron Finch Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Phillips, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Quinton de Kock, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, and is expected to sign further stars in the coming weeks.
