Jason Roy, the England opener, has spoken out about his indefinite break from cricket, revealing that despite playing well, he wasn’t enjoying himself and needed to take a break to recover.
Roy became the second English player to take a break due to mental health issues, following all-rounder Ben Stokes’ decision last year. The Englishman had a difficult period, but he recovered and was able to return to the squad for the ODI series against the Netherlands.
Jason Roy opens up on his difficult phase
Jason Roy, the star English white-ball opener, was set to play for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League’s 2022 season after being signed by the Ahmedabad-based franchise for Rs 2 crore in the mega auctions earlier this year. However, he decided to withdraw from the league before he could join the team and play in the world’s richest franchise cricket league tournament.
The 31-year-old South African-born English cricketer announced his withdrawal at the time, citing the lengthy bio-bubble stay, which would have kept him away from his family for over two months.
Roy sat out the entire season of the lucrative league, which Hardik Pandya’s team won, and only returned to the field for the ongoing T20 Blast and three-match series against the Netherlands.
After only scoring one run in the first game, the star batter was back to his best in the second game on Sunday (June 19), scoring 73 runs on 60 balls. He hit 13 boundaries and a six during his time at the crease. He and fellow opener Phil Salt put on 139 runs for the first wicket, setting the tone for England’s 6-wicket victory, which also helped them seal the series.
After guiding England to victory in the second match, the right-handed attacking top-order batsman opened up about a difficult period earlier this year that forced him to take a break from cricket.
“Things mentally weren’t right with me at the PSL. I was in a weird place because I was playing good cricket but I wasn’t enjoying myself, I wasn’t happy and it was just a dark time. It was just a good two months to come home and live a normal life for a bit after a tough couple of years,” Roy said.
“(There were) a lot of months away. Over 50 days of hotel quarantine the year before and then having a child in January and having to spend time away from him was just a bit too much.” I missed the IPL to spend some time at home and it has refreshed my mind and body, and I recognized where I was at with a lot of things,” he said.
A rejuvenated Roy, meanwhile, has rediscovered his love for the game.
“So, it is nice to be here now, and I’m chomping at the bit to put the badge back on. It’s the same for Surrey. I’ve loved every minute of that. It’s a nice feeling to be in love with the game again,” he added.
