Kolkata Knight Riders have signed up England batter Jason Roy as a replacement player with two of their big names Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al Hasan already out of the tournament. Knight Riders signed Roy for INR 2.8 crore (USD 341,000 approx.); his base price listed at the pre-season auction was INR 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx.).
Most English players are only permitted to sign replacement deals at the IPL before a cut-off date of March 1, in order to help their counties plan for the early months of the County Championship season. However, players with ECB central contracts or incremental deals are eligible to be signed after that date. Roy lost his central contract in October, but still has an incremental deal.
Roy last played the IPL in 2021, having opted out last year - after being bought by Gujarat Titans in the auction - while taking an indefinite break from cricket. In 2021 he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and scored 150 runs from five games, averaging 30 and striking at 123.96.
In 2020 too he had opted out of the IPL because of personal reasons, when he was with Delhi Capitals.
Knight Riders have played just one game so far, which they lost to Punjab Kings by seven runs (DLS method) in Mohali. They play their second game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday at their home ground Eden Gardens.
They have lost Iyer to a lower-back injury for which he needs surgery, and Shakib has opted out of the season for personal reasons.