Roy has not given up hope of playing in England and has lost the final months of his contract with the ECB after agreeing to join the new white ball league.
An agreement with the ECB means Roy could seek a place in England’s squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year. “I want to play for England for the next few years and that is my priority,” Roy said in a statement.
“As a one-format player without a central contract, I wanted to take the opportunity to play in this competition as there are no scheduling conflicts with England at the moment. “As an English player, I benefit from playing cricket as competitively as possible.
“To be clear, my priority is English cricket, especially with the World Cup around the corner.”
The 32-year-old was part of the England XI that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup but was not part of the winning squad at last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Roy has continued to be a regular in England’s ODI line-up, scoring two tons in six innings against South Africa and Bangladesh this year.
The powerful opener is now all set to play in the first T20 in America’s Major League Cricket (MLC) against Los Angeles Knight Riders, considered his most likely destination. The ECB confirmed the deal with Roy in a statement.
“[Roy] agreed to play in the league on the condition that the ECB waive the remainder of the mutually agreed upon ECB supplemental contract.
“The ECB would like to make it clear that this decision will not affect Jason’s future England selection. We are confident that Jason is committed to English cricket.”
