The KKR franchise has all but confirmed the signing of star England opener Jason Roy for their franchise in the new T20 league in the USA, the Los Angeles Knight Riders which will be part of the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States.
Jason Roy has agreed to terminate the remainder of his contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in order to play in the MLC and this has created quite a big stir among fans and ex-cricketers.
KKR Offer Jason Roy 3 Crore For USA League
It is reported that the LA Knight Riders will be signing Jason Roy for INR 3.68 crore for two seasons. Jason Roy had held an incremental deal with the ECB which is worth around £66,000 per year, which is roughly around INR 67 lakh.
The inaugural season of MLC will be played from July 13 to 30 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas. This is slotted between the T20 Blast and The Hundred, although if Surrey reaches finals Day in The Blast, Roy will miss the start of the MLC.
The ECB had decided to not hand the No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) that would enable contracted players to feature in MLC. This left Jason Roy with a choice that he terminates his contract with the ECB in order to play in the MLC, and he opted for this.
While many questioned his patriotism and commitment toward England team of Roy, this move was welcomed by former England captain Michael Vaughan. Jason Roy would be getting twice the amount in one season of MLC that he will get from a yearly ECB contract.
“I don’t get the big issue about Jason Roy .. he hasn’t got any England games and has been offered a nice contract in the states so he has taken it .. it’s inevitable that we will see more of this in the future .. And I have no problem with it,” Vaughan said.
ESPNcricinfo said: “Roy played for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 and is understood to have held informal discussions with the franchise about the possibility of a contract to play for their teams in other leagues, including MLC.”
When a section of people online criticised Jason Roy for “choosing” MLC and franchise money over ECB contract, the England opener explained his decision on Twitter.
“Following a bit of unwanted speculation over the last 24 hours, I wanted to clarify that I am not and never will ‘walk away from England’.
“Representing my country continues to be my proudest moment as a professional cricketer. I hope to play for England for many more years, that remains my priority.
“I’ve had clear and supportive conversations with the ECB about participating in Major League Cricket. The ECB were happy with me to play in the competition as long as they didn’t have to pay me for the remainder of the contractual year.
“As a single format player with no central contract I wanted to take the opportunity to play this competition as there are currently no scheduling conflicts with England. It benefits me as an England player to play as much competitive cricket as possible.
“Just to be very clear, my priority is England cricket, especially with a World Cup soon upon us. It is for me, and for any player, the greatest honour to receive a cap to play for their country.”
