England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has stated that veteran batter Jason Roy will be there as a reserve player for the 2023 World Cup in India. He was thrilled to see the ‘burning desire’ in Roy, who has been dropped from the final 15-member squad as well. Roy, who was part of England’s 2019 World Cup squad, was added to the provisional squad of the 2023 edition as well. However, he was replaced by Harry Brook due to the latter’s versatility as well.

Speaking to BBC Test Match Special, Mott said, “I’ve got no doubt that if he got that opportunity, he will come out [to India] and make the most of it. In the spirit he has been in, he has taken it as well as you would have hoped. He’s determined to get back there, he’s determined to keep fit and get ready, should an opportunity open up. [Roy] has got a burning desire to still be out there. That’s exactly what you’d expect from a player who, he’s had his ups and downs over his career but what an amazing record he has had.”

READ MORE: “Can be the future captain of India” – Kiran More on Ruturaj Gaikwad

However, he has helped in England’s transformation into a strong contender after the 2015 World Cup debacle as well. He has an outstanding ODI record, having scored 4271 runs in 110 innings of 116 ODIs at an average of 39.91 as well.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mott further added: “We’ve obviously picked that 15 for the World Cup and, until we get injury or illness, they’ll serve us well. The good thing about an India series, as opposed to Australia, is the fact that it’s not a big flight away. We can call up people at pretty short notice and travel quite lean as well. Obviously, Jofra will be there, but a lot of that is around him getting the servicing that he needs to get back to full fitness.”