Hours before the conclusion of the IPL 2024 Retention Day, Rajasthan Royals have confirmed that star England batter Joe Root will not be a part of the team. The English batter has opted out of IPL 2024 and has thus been released by the Rajasthan outfits.
Kumar Sangakkara, Royals’ Director of Cricket, said, “During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024. Even in a short span of time, Joe was able to create such a positive impact on the franchise and the players around him. His energy around the group and the experience he brought to the Royals will be missed. We respect his decision totally and wish him success in everything he does.”
After a rather quiet debut season in IPL 2023, Joe Root won’t continue with the Royals. Root has played just 3 matches in the entirety of his IPL career in 2023 where he managed to score just 10 runs.
Joe Root is, however, not the first English cricketer to miss IPL 2024. A couple of days earlier, star English all-rounder Ben Stokes too announced that he wouldn’t be a part of the IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness.
Stokes who was bought for a whooping price of 16.25 crore by Chennai Super Kings last season will undergo surgery on his knee and will need time to recover from the same. As a result he won’t be a part of the Yellow Army and in all likelihood, the all-rounder will be released by CSK.