Kolkata Knight Riders sign swashbuckling opener Jason Roy for the remainder of IPL 2023

With full-time captain Shreyas Iyer ruled out of IPL 2023 and Shakib Al Hasan opting out due to personal reasons, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have signed England opener Jason Roy. The swashbuckling batter joins the franchise for INR 2.8 crore for the remainder of the tournament.

Iyer was likely to return after the few first games, but will now travel abroad for back surgery, forcing him to miss IPL 2023 and the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June. Middle-order batter Nitish Rana is likely to continue as captain for the entire season.

Meanwhile, Roy is a highly experienced opener when it comes to T20 cricket and the IPL. The South African-born batter featured for the Gujarat Lions in 2017, before playing for the Delhi Capitals in 2018.

The 32-year-old opted out of the 2020 edition after the Capitals signed him for INR 1.5 crore. He joined SunRisers Hyderabad for IPL 2021 as Mitchell Marsh's replacement and scored 150 runs in five games with a half-century.

In 13 IPL innings, Roy has 329 runs at 29.91. He has also scored 1522 runs in 64 T20Is with eight half-centuries.

Knight Riders aiming to bounce back from their narrow loss to Punjab Kings

Kolkata Knight Riders. (Credits: Twitter)

Meanwhile, the Knight Riders will look to bounce back from a seven-run loss to the Punjab Kings in their opening game in Mohali. Batting first, the Punjab Kings racked up 191 as Bhanuka Rajapaksa top-scored with 50 off 32 deliveries. The two-time champions didn't start the way they wanted to, losing half their side in the 11th over.

Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell revived the Knight Riders' hopes slightly with a 50-run stand, but they faded once again after their departures. When rain interrupted, the tourists were seven runs short according to the DLS method. It will be interesting to see whether KKR bring in Roy for Rahmanullah Gurbaz for their next game on Thursday.