IPL’s newest entrants Gujarat Titans received a major blow ahead of the upcoming 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League with Jason Roy announcing his decision to not participate in the upcoming event.
The stylish opening batsman, who had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, was bought for his base price of INR 2 crore in last month’s mega-auction and was expected to be a big part of the team for the upcoming season, however, he has decided to pull out his name from the gala event.
This is the second time that Jason is pulling out of the IPL. Earlier in IPL 2020 he had pulled out of the tournament stating personal reasons after he was picked up by Delhi Capitals for INR 1.5 crore. However, this has come out as a huge blow to Gujarat Lions, as Roy was on a roll as he gave some terrific performances in the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022.
Representing Quetta Gladiators, he played just six matches for the franchise, however, he ended up as their highest run-corer and one of the top scorers in the tournament. He amassed 303 runs off just 6 games.
As per reports, Jason Roy had already informed the same to the Ahmedabad-based franchise last week. On Tuesday, Roy took to his Twitter and confirmed the same to his fans. In his post, Jason expressed gratitude towards management and team captain Hardik Pandya and revealed that continuous cricket has taken a toll on him. He said:
“Hi everyone, especially the Gujarat Titans fans and squad. It’s with a heavy heart I have decided to pull out of this years tournament. I want to thank the management and the captain Hardik for putting your faith in me and picking me in the auction. However with everything going on in the world over the last 3 years it’s added up and taken it’s toll on me,”
He added:
“I feel it’s only right I spend some quality time with my family. As well as spending time working on myself and my game over the next couple of months leading into a very busy year,”
“I will be following each game of the Titans and backing them to lift the trophy in their first year of the tournament. Thank you everyone for the continued support and I hope you can all respect and appreciate my decision,”
Meanwhile, the 2022 edition of the IPL will kickstart from March 26 while the final is scheduled to take place on May 29.
