IPL 2024: Jason Roy reveals 2 big reasons why he opted out of the cash-rich tournament despite KKR retaining him

Stylish opening batter Jason Roy was slated to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). However, his withdrawal from the tournament led KKR to sign his countryman Phil Salt. Roy was initially signed by KKR at a base price of Rs 1.5 crore in 2023, following the absence of skipper Shreyas Iyer due to a lower back injury and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's unavailability.

In the 2023 season, Roy scored 285 runs in eight matches with a strike rate of 151.60, including two half-centuries. Speaking on The Athlete’s Voice Podcast, Roy disclosed the reason behind his IPL absence. He expressed gratitude to the KKR management for retaining him before the auction but revealed that missing the IPL was a significant decision for him.

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"Missing this year's IPL was a huge decision, I think. KKR put so much trust in me by retaining me after a decent year last year and being available for them throughout the year and all the other competitions, I felt like I owe them a huge amount," said Roy.

2 reasons behind Roy's withdrawal from IPL 2024

Roy cited exhaustion at the beginning of the year and his daughter's birthday as the primary reasons for his withdrawal from the IPL. He also mentioned the extensive cricket he played leading up to the IPL, participating in the SA20 for Durban’s Super Giants, a couple of matches in the ILT20 for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, and just before the IPL, representing the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL.

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"It was a very big decision, but a decision I came to just because it was my daughter's fifth birthday as soon as our first game was, there were a few things going on, I was quite tired after the start of my year," said Roy.

"I've come off the back of not a huge amount of cricket, so the last couple of months have really taken it out of me. So I was very honest to KKR and we've got a fantastic relationship, so we were able to come to an agreement and stuff like that on why I wasn't coming. They completely understood so I'm very grateful to them for that. But I just had to put myself first, just mindset and body," he added.

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