Jason Roy loses England contract to play in new US T20 cricket league | twenty20

Jason Roy will become the first current England player to sign up for the opening Major League Cricket (MLC) competition in the US after losing the final months of his ECB contract, having first assured that the move will not jeopardize his international selection chances. The Los Angeles Knight Riders have offered Roy a two-year contract and he will travel to the US at the end of Surrey’s T20 Blast campaign.

“I hope to play for England for many more years, that remains my priority”, Roy wrote in a statement. “As an England player, it benefits me to play as much competitive cricket as possible. To be clear, my priority is England cricket, especially with a World Cup just around the corner.”

The Los Angeles Knight Riders share ownership with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League franchise Roy played for this season. Although the MLC schedule has yet to be released, he could play as many games for his teams this year as he will for Surrey, which would represent a significant step on the much-discussed path to year-round franchise contracts.

However, their county hopes to retain their core allegiance and if they qualify for the final day of the Blast, which will be played two days after the MLC kicks off on July 15, their departure would be delayed. the MLC twenty20 The competition will end on July 30, two days before the start of the Hundreds and three days before Roy arrives at Lord’s to play his first match for the Oval Invincibles.

No qualified player in England can play in a foreign league without being issued a no-objection certificate by the ECB, and after what Roy described as “clear and supportive discussions” with the governing body, he was happy to oblige. In a statement, the ECB said he did so “on the condition that he relinquish the remainder of his incremental contract” and that he has “absolute confidence and faith that Jason is committed to England cricket.”

Roy is not the only ECB contract player to have been approached by MLC teams. David Willey has so far turned down proposals, not wanting to jeopardize his potential participation in this autumn’s Over 50 World Cup, while Reece Topley has also been scouted but is recovering from the dislocated shoulder that ruled him out of the IPL. Having missed much of last year due to various injuries, Topley is keen to play as much cricket as possible for any team that wants to have him, but he will need to prove his fitness before taking on any new commitments.

Roy, 32, has become a key player for England’s white ball teams since his debut in 2014, and was part of the team who won the Over-50 World Cup in 2019. But after a miserable summer last year, he was dropped from the T20 squad for the World Cup in Australia, which England also won, and demoted from a full central contract to an incremental contract.

These offers are worth around £70,000 and are intended for “players who can play England less predictably”. They are considerably less lucrative than the rumored £300,000 Roy has been offered for just five weeks of work, spread over two years, in America.

None of those with full central ECB contracts are expected to play in the MLC this year (the competition also coincides with the last two Ashes Tests) and while several leading white ball specialists from other countries have already signed up, including Quinton de Kock, Glenn Phillips and Wanindu Hasaranga, many more will wait to see if the debut season is a success before deciding whether or not to participate.

Although the inaugural competition will last just 17 days and coincide with just one day of senior white-ball cricket in England, it is expected to run until August 2024, forcing players to choose between it and the Hundred.