England opener Jason Roy has pulled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League due to personal reasons. Roy was part of the KKR setup in the last year of the tournament, where he played eight games for the two-time champions.
Notably, KKR have named Phil Salt as a replacement for Roy. Salt was part of the Delhi Capitals in the 2023 season but was not retained by the franchise despite making two fifties. IPL confirmed the development after releasing a statement.
"Kolkata Knight Riders have named Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy after the latter pulled out of the upcoming TATA IPL 2024 owing to personal reasons. Having remained unsold in the auction after representing Delhi Capitals last year, this will be Salt's second season in the IPL," the governing body of the tournament wrote in a statement.
"Bought at his reserve price of INR 1.5 crore, the aggressive wicket-keeper batter from England scored two consecutive T20I centuries against the West Indies in December last year. His 48-ball century in the 4th T20I at Trinidad is also the joint-fastest for England," it added.
Salt was released ahead of the mini auctions in December. He smashed a T20I century just days before the auctions for England against West Indies and he struck another one a few hours after not getting picked in the Indian cash-rich league.
Salt had admitted that he was left "confused" for not getting picked. It was a confusing morning. I expected to be picked up, having gone there last year and done well and after the year that I've had, but these things happen. It's part of the lottery of an auction, it happens in draft processes as well. There's a few lads in our dressing room who are going to have a very good Christmas and I'm over the moon for them," he said after scoring the second T20I ton.
"I was a bit confused but it can happen. There's no bad cricketers on the list at the IPL. It's one of those things," Salt added.
Meanwhile, Roy had earlier pulled out of the Indian tournament in 2022 as well due to bubble fatigue.
