"Very excited to join up over there with a great squad and a great management team" - Jason Roy on being signed by KKR for IPL 2023 

England opening batter Jason Roy became the latest replacement player to be roped in by an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise since the start of the 2023 season. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) confirmed their latest acquisition for a price of ₹2.8 crore after Shakib Al Hasan pulled out of the campaign due to international commitments and personal reasons.

KKR are already without their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer for the season as he is set to undergo surgery to treat his back injury. The two-time IPL champions have already appointed Nitish Rana as their interim skipper.

They are also awaiting Liton Das to join the squad as he is currently involved in the ongoing Test between Bangladesh and Ireland. So making a move for Roy made complete sense for the Knight Riders.

Ahead of joining the KKR squad, Roy said in a video released by the franchise on their social media handles:

"Hi everybody, Jason Roy here. I just wanted to say how excited I am to put the KKR jersey on in this year's IPL. Very excited to join up over there with a great squad and a great management team. So, thank you very much for the opportunity and I will see you all very very soon."

KKR started their IPL 2023 campaign with a loss at the hands of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday, April 1.

---

Jason Roy opted out of IPL 2022 after being acquired by Gujarat Titans (GT) at the mega auction

The explosive opening batter was among the overseas signings for the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

However, Jason Roy opted out of the tournament prior to its commencement, citing bio-bubble fatigue. He was among several names released by GT ahead of the mini-auction along with Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who oddly enough is now part of KKR.

Roy had a topsy-turvy 2022 after enduring a poor season with the Oval Invincibles, which also cost him a spot in England's T20 World Cup 2022 squad.

He returned to form with an ODI hundred against South Africa and carried his momentum into the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the Quetta Gladiators.

KKR, meanwhile, are next scheduled to play the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their first home game of the season at Eden Gardens on Thursday, April 6.

Will the overseas opening batter have a prolific season with KKR? Let us know what you think.