Jason Roy IPL 2021 team: Why has SRH’s Mitchell Marsh opted out of IPL 2021?

Jason Roy IPL 2021 team: The English opening batsman is all set to play his third season in the Indian Premier League.

Australia and SunRisers Hyderabad all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has opted out of the upcoming 14th season of the Indian Premier League due to “personal reasons”. Marsh has become the second Australian player after rookie wicket-keeper batsman Josh Philippe to withdraw from the 14th season of the biggest T20 league.

Marsh, 29, was bought by Hyderabad at his base price of INR 2 crore in IPL 2020 auction. In what remained as his solitary IPL 2020 appearance, Marsh flew back to Australia after twisting his ankle while trying to stop a delivery off his own bowling.

Since then, Marsh represented Perth Scorchers in the 10th season of the Big Bash League in addition to touring New Zealand for a five-match T20I series. Considering how competitive cricket is being played in bio-bubble environments in the COVID-19 era, numerous players have refrained themselves from jumping from one bubble to another.

In the last season in the UAE, SunRisers had roped in West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder as a like-for-like replacement for Marsh.

Jason Roy IPL 2021 team

As far as Marsh’s replacement for IPL 2021 is concerned, SRH haven’t opted for a like-for-like player after including England opening batsman Jason Roy.

Roy, 30, had scored 144 runs at an average and strike rate of 28.80 and 132.11 respectively in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against India. In eight IPL T20s for Gujarat Lions and Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils) across two seasons, Roy’s 179 runs have come at 29.83 and 133.58 including one half-century.

At Hyderabad, Roy will fight for a top-order spot with the likes of captain David Warner, wicket-keeper batsman and England white-ball opening partner Jonny Bairstow and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

Reunited for the @IPL 😍

A taste of what you can expect @SunRisers fans!@JasonRoy20 | @jbairstow21 pic.twitter.com/tBHLHwU26p

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 31, 2021

It is worth mentioning that Roy has been acquired at his base price of INR 2 crore. The right-hand batsman had remained unsold in the auction after being released by Capitals earlier this year. Last year, Roy had opted out of the tournament when Capitals had included (then) uncapped Australia all-rounder Daniel Sams as his replacement.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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