Jason Roy confirms to end his England deal in order to play in July's Major League Cricket.

Cricket General

Jason Roy confirms to end his England deal in order to play in July's Major League Cricket.

England opener Jason Roy has officially announced to terminate his contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play in the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 in the United States, which begins in July.

Jason Roy has become the first England player to withdraw from a national contract to sign up for Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.

Despite Roy terminating his national contract, England are likely to continue to pick the opener. Roy has scored two one-day international centuries this year and is firmly in the side’s plans to go to the World Cup in October.

Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Matthew Potts, Roy, Topley and David Willey are the six England players who hold the ECB incremental contracts which are worth around £66,000 (Rs 68 lakh approx.) per year.

The MLC is scheduled to take place from July 13-30 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas and has significant backing from India and Australia.

Four of the six franchises in the new league have investors who own IPL teams, while Cricket Victoria and Cricket New South Wales have stakes in the other two.

The two semi-finals and finals of the T20 Blast will take place on July 15 and are set to clash with the inaugural MLC season.