Kolkata Knight Riders have replaced Jason Roy—England’s top-order batter— with his compatriot Phil Salt after the former pulled out from the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) citing personal reasons.
“Kolkata Knight Riders have named Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy after the latter pulled out of the upcoming TATA IPL 2024 owing to personal reasons. Having remained unsold in the auction after representing Delhi Capitals last year, this will be Salt’s second season in the IPL,” read a statement from IPL.
Phil Salt, 27-year-old, went unsold at the IPL auction 2024. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have bought the British player at his reserve price of ₹1.5 crore.
“Bought at his reserve price of INR 1.5 crore, the aggressive wicket-keeper batter from England scored two consecutive T20I centuries against the West Indies in December last year. His 48-ball century in the 4th T20I at Trinidad is also the joint-fastest for England” the IPL statement read.
It is important to note that it will not be the first season of Salt in the premier league, as he was playing for Delhi Capitals last season. Salt was the second-highest scorer for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023. He had scored 218 runs from nine innings including two half-centuries, with a best individual score of 87. Salt was surprisingly released ahead of 2024 auctions in December last year.
Salt, who scored two consecutive T20I centuries against the West Indies in December last year, is known as an aggressive wicket-keeper batter. Salt’s 48-ball century in the fourth T20I at Trinidad is also the joint-fastest for England.
Jason Roy was roped in by KKR last year as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan and scored 285 runs in 8 matches for the two-time champions.
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