Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have finally announced a replacement player for the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League while they confirmed the unavailability of regular skipper Shreyas Iyer and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for the entire tournament.
Shreyas Iyer And Shakib Al Hasan Ruled Out Of IPL 2023
For the unversed, Indian batter and KKR’s regular captain, Shreyas Iyer has been recovering at the National Cricket Association in Bengaluru since the Ahmedabad Test against Australia because of a recurring back injury. Iyer will also miss the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final as he will have to go under the knife.
On the other hand, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has himself parted ways with Kolkata Knight Riders for the ongoing tournament because of his international commitments and personal reasons. The news of their unavailability was confirmed by the franchise via an official statement that read:
“Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the tournament owing to a lower back injury while Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has confirmed his unavailability for the season,”
Jason Roy Has Been Roped In By KKR
Meanwhile, Jason Roy has been named as the replacement player by KKR, who perfectly fits the franchise’s requirements right now. The England opener last played in the Indian Premier League in the 2021 season for SunRisers Hyderabad and he has featured in 13 matches in the cash-rich league for three different franchises.
Jason Roy made his debut in the Indian Premier League in 2017 for Gujarat Lions before he was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the 2018 edition. After missing a couple of seasons, Jason was signed by SRH as a replacement player in 2021. Later, he was picked at IPL 2022 mega auction by the Gujarat Titans, however, he pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.
Lately, Roy is in some terrific form and KKR would hope to take full use of his form in the ongoing season.
Kolkata Knight Riders Final Squad:
Nitish Rana (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Weise, Kulwant Khejrolia, Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Jason Roy.
