Jason Roy pulls out of IPL citing bubble fatigue
New Delhi(PTI): England's flamboyant batter Jason Roy on Tuesday pulled out of the upcoming IPL citing extended stay in the tournament bubble, dealing a blow to his new franchise Gujarat Titans weeks before the event gets going.
The 31-year-old South African-born English cricketer was signed by Gujarat Titans for his base price of Rs 2 crore at the mega auction.
"It's with a heavy heart I have decided to pull out of this year's tournament. I want to thank the management and the captain Hardik for putting your faith in me and picking me in the auction," Roy wrote on his Twitter handle on Tuesday.
"However, with everything going on in the world over the last 3 years it's added up and taken it's toll on me. I feel it's only right I spend some quality time with my family.
"As well as spending time working on myself and my game over the next couple of months leading into a very busy year. I will be following each game of the Titans and backing them to lift the trophy in their first year of the tournament."
The development is a big blow to the Gujarat franchise as Roy was the only specialist opener picked by them apart from young Shubman Gill.
This is the second time the English player is pulling out of the IPL. He had earlier withdrawn from the 2020 edition due to personal reasons after being picked up by the Delhi Capitals for Rs 1.5 crore.
The 15th edition of the IPL is scheduled to begin on March 26 and will conclude in the last week of May.
Last season, Roy had represented Sunrisers Hyderabad and played a few decent knocks before carrying his form to the Pakistan Super League this year, where he turned out for the Quetta Gladiators.
The PSL too was played in a bio-secure bubble.
He played only six matches for the franchise and still ended up as their highest run-scorer with 303 runs at an average of 50.50 and a strike-rate of 170.22.
Notably, Roy was blessed with his second child in January.
The IPL 2022 will be a 10-team event and will take place in Mumbai and Pune.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
