Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and England wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings on Monday confirmed that he will not participate in ღthe 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Billings, who played eight matches for the Shreyas Iyer-led side in IPL 2022, wa🐈s signed up by the two-time champions in the mega auction at his base price of INR 2 crore. In eight games, he scored 169 runs at an average of 💜24.14, with his highest score being 36.
Looking ꦏto focus on longer format cricket at the start of the English summer with
— Sam Billings (@sambillings)
In another tweet, Billings said: “Thank you so much for the opportunity @kkriders! Loved every minute of it. An amazing franchise with some brilliant people. Hopefully see you again in the future.”
! Loved every minute of it. An ama🔯zing franchise with some brilliant people.Hopefully see you again in the future 💜
— Sam Billings (@sambillings)
Billings’ decision means KKR will now have INR 2 crore mor♏e to spend at the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Kochi on December 23.
There was a lot of action seen in the Knight Riders camp on Sunday (November 13) morning, as they bought back New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson and Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz from the reigning champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in all-cash deals. Afghani🃏stan’s Gurbaz was a surprise trade for many, but with Billings opting out of the current KKR ♈squad, it makes a lot of sense.
Talking of Billings’ future in red-ball cricket, he has off late started getting chances in England’s Test line-up under the leadership of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. He is often named as a backup wicketkeeper to B▨en Foakes.
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