England opener Jason Roy confirmed on Tuesday that he will not be playing for his franchise Gujarat Titans in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) as he wants to spend some "quality time" with his family.
The 31-year-old Roy, who was signed by the Titans for his base price of Rs two crore at the IPL mega auction barely a fortnight ago, had informed the franchise of his decision to quit last week, a report in espncricinfo said on Tuesday.
Later, the cricketer took to Instagram to convey the decision to his fans.
"Hi everyone, especially the Gujarat Titans fans and squad. 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 (Pandya) for putting your faith in me and picking me in the auction.
"However, with everything going on in the world over the last 3 years it's added up and taken its 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," wrote Roy.
"Thank you everyone for the continued support and I hope you can all respect and appreciate my decision," added Roy.
In 2020, Roy was picked by Delhi Capitals for a base price of Rs 1.5 crore but opted out citing personal reasons.
This year's IPL league phase will take place in Mumbai and Pune and the teams will once again be confined to bio-bubbles throughout the duration of the tournament, which will run from March 26 till May 29.
Roy had earlier represented Gujarat Lions (2017), Delhi Daredevils (2018) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2021). Roy has a total of 329 IPL runs in 13 matches at an average of 29.90 and a strike rate of 129.01.
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