Jason Roy has joined the list of England players that would be in the IPL this season as he has now signed up with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Roy would replace Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who left the team for personal reasons. Last month, Roy was unsold at a mini-auction and it looked like he was going to miss out on the action in the IPL this season until Marsh’s departure afforded him the opportunity. According to a statement from the IPL; “Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed up England batsman Jason Roy as replacement for Mitchell Marsh, who has made himself unavailable for the entire season owing to personal reasons.” The statement also said that Roy was acquired for a base fee of 20 million Indian rupees ($273,332).

Roy would not be the only Englishman in Sunrisers as he would be joining Jonny Bairstow as a member of the team. Trevor Bayliss, who is a former coach for the English national team, is the coach for the Sunrisers. Roy made his IPL debut in 2017 and has played for two teams; Gujarat Lions and Delhi Capitals, playing eight games in total. Last year, Roy did not play any games for the Delhi Capitals, citing personal reasons also. Marsh, who explained that he could not cope with the bubble situation, only played 1 game in 2020 before being out due to injury.

Marsh joined the IPL in 2010 and has played 21 games. It is unclear if he would be joining any IPL team in the future but we would not be seeing him in any team as long as there is still need for a bubble or biosecure environment.

The 2021 season begins on April 9 and there are currently 14 players in the IPL. Eoin Morgan, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders is the only one without a fellow countryman in his team. Other players in the IPL this season include Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Tom Curran, and Chris Jordan.

Written by: Leon Osamor