Veteran England opening batter Jason Roy is likely to cancel his central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to sign a contract with the franchise to take part in the upcoming edition of Major League Cricket in the United States, which will start on July 13 and run until July 30 as well. However, he is set to sign a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Knight Riders franchise for the next two years. The swashbuckling opener could lose his place in the England squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023, which will take part in India if he signs the contract with the franchise as well.

However, Jason Roy will become the first player from the England national cricket team to step away from the central contract to play in the T20 league around the world. Currently, he is part of the ECB’s centrally contracted players list as well, and the board will have control over his schedule until October this year too. Notably, he was consistent in England’s World Cup-winning squad in 2019 at home. He scored 443 runs in eight games in the tournament, with a stunning average of 63.29 and a strike rate of 115.36.

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Jason Roy returned to the ODI side in the three-match ODI series against Australia soon after the World Cup. However, he failed to leave a mark in the series in Australia. He scored centuries against South Africa and Bangladesh to remain in contention for the mega event as well. Meanwhile, according to the Daily Mail, Roy has been in talks with ECB officials about his playing for the LA Knight Riders for the past few weeks, and an announcement will be made soon as well. Jason Roy has played for the Three Lions in 110 ODI matches in his nine-year career. He scored 132 runs which came at an average of 39.92 and a strike rate of 105.53 as well.