England batsman Jason Roy has pulled out of IPL 2022, citing the challenge of staying in the tournament bubble for an extended period. Jason Roy, who Gujarat Titans signed for his base price of INR 2 crore (USD 266,000) at the auction, informed the franchise of his decision last week. However, the Titans are yet to finalize a replacement.
Roy, 31, recently had a good outing in PSL 2022, which was also played within a bio-secure bubble. He was among the top batsman in the tournament and the leading run-getter for the Quetta Gladiators. They finished fifth in the six-team league.
This is the second instance Roy has pulled out of the IPL after finding a team at the auction. Before this, In 2020, Delhi Capitals picked up Roy for his then base price of INR 1.5 crore, but then he opted out for personal reasons.
This time the IPL will be a ten-team event and will take place in Mumbai and Pune during the league phase. As a result, teams will operate out of a bubble through the season. However, the IPL is yet to share the guidelines and protocols with the franchises.
If Roy were in the bubble throughout the IPL, he would probably need to be away from his family for more than two months. The tournament begins on March 26 and ends on May 29.
Roy is not the first player to pull out of the tournament, citing bubble fatigue during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic across the world. Several players have withdrawn in the past as well, both before the start of the tournament and during the tournament, citing a need to keep themselves fit, especially mentally for World Cups.
As it happens, a T20 World Cup has been scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November 2022.
Gujarat Titans would have been the fourth team Roy would have played for in the IPL. He earlier represented Gujarat Lions in 2017, Delhi Daredevils in 2018 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2021. He initially went unsold at the 2021 auction but was later drafted as a replacement for the Australia allrounder Mitchell Marsh.
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