Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and England wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings on Monday confirmed that he will not participate in the 2023 editiꦏon of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Billings, who played eight matches for the Shreyas Iyer-led side in IPL 2022, was signed up by the two-time champions in the mega auction at his base price of INR 2 cr💟ore. In eight games, he scored 169 runs at an average of 24.14, with his highest score being 36.
Taking to Twitter, B൲illings revealed the reason for not participating in ꦿthe forthcoming IPL.
“Have taken the tough decision that I won’t be taking part in the next IPL @KKRiders. Looking to focus on longer format cricket at the start of the English summer with @kentcricket,” he wrote.
Have taken the tough decisio🐷n that I won’t be taking part in the n🐭ext IPL
Looking to 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.”
Thank you 🅰so much for the opportunity ! 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 more 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. Afghanistan’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 Ben Foakes.
England will soon resume their tour of Pakistan, where they will play a three-match Test series. Ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the 𒅌Three Lions featured in a seven-game T20I leg,🌊 which they finally won by 4-3.
