Rob Key on Jason Roy’s exclusion from England's T20I World Cup squad

Jason Roy gutted to miss the T20 World Cup

It was a heartbreak for the English opening batter Jason Roy as England announced their squad for the T20I World Cup 2022, scheduled in Australia. The batter has been dropped from the 15-member squad owing to a string of poor performances in international cricket.

Roy has been a crucial part of England’s white-ball setup since 2015. He has accumulated a combined 5500 runs from 171 ODIs and T20 Internationals. However, there has been a massive slump in his form this cricket season.

The 32-year-old featured in a total of six T20 Internationals for England in recent months but ended up with just 78 runs at an average of 12.66. Roy was expected to redeem himself in The Hundred while plying his trade for the Oval Invincibles. However, he bagged three ducks in four innings and damaged his World Cup chances.

Key hopeful of Jason Roy making a comeback 

It is no surprise that the opening batter was gutted about his exclusion. England Cricket Board’s managing director, Rob Key revealed that though the batter is disappointed, he is also hungry to score runs and prove his mettle once again.

In a conversation with Sky Sports, Key said, 

“Jos [Buttler] was the one who rung him, he wanted to be the one to tell him. Myself and [head coach] Matthew Mott have spoken to him since. He's obviously very disappointed and wants to have the chance to go and show that he's not finished in international cricket. I still think he's a fantastic player, it's just that literally, the timing has been awful for him."

Bairstow to open the innings for England

Though Roy has been dropped, Key asserted that the opening batter has a long way to go in international cricket. The official is hopeful of the 32-year-old getting plenty of opportunities in the future to again establish himself as a match-winner for the England team. Notably, Roy is not a part of England’s T20I squad for the Pakistan series, starting from September 20.

With Jason Roy missing out, Jonny Bairstow will be the one opening the innings (at the time of writing) for England. Meanwhile, Key also backed Ben Stokes to move up the order in the T20 World Cup at number four. The ECB director believes that England are yet to utilize the full potential for Stokes in the shortest format of the game.

Also Read: Jason Roy left out as England announce 15-member squad for T20I World Cup 2022