Big Blow for the IPL fans, English star wicket-keeper to skip IPL 2023 to focus on Test cricket
After an exciting season of the Indian Premier League, the preparation for the upcoming season in 2023 has already begun. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has scheduled a mini-auction in December ahead of the next season, which will be held in Kochi on December 23.
This auction will allow the team to rearrange their lineup with the new faces they desire while also allowing them to release players they believe are no longer useful. Some of the teams have already taken some big decisions so far.
Notably, the five-time champion Mumbai Indians have released their most experienced player, Kieron Pollard, ahead of the auction, while the four-time champion Chennai Super Kings have released veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
However, one more piece of news has gone viral ahead of the auction: English star wicketkeeper and batter Sam Billings has withdrawn from the next season of the IPL in order to focus more on the longest format. He was picked by the two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders in the last auction.
Billings played in 8 games and scored 169 runs at a 24.14 average. On Monday, he took to Twitter and announced his decision. He thanked the franchise for the opportunity and clarified that he will be focusing on Test cricket as the English summer is about to start.
Thank you so much for the opportunity @kkriders ! Loved every minute of it. An amazing franchise with some brilliant people.
— Sam Billings (@sambillings) November 14, 2022
Hopefully see you again in the future 💜 pic.twitter.com/hxVVXfRqEE
So far, Bilings has played a total of 30 games in his IPL career and has made 503 runs at an average of 19.35, with the highest score of 56. He began his career with the Delhi Daredevils before being traded to the Chennai Super Kings.
He then played for the Delhi Capitals in 2021, and the KKR in 2022. Notably, he is also part of the English red-ball team. Earlier, he didn't get much chance on the side, but after Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum joined the leadership group, he started getting more opportunities.
He is also a member of England's Test squad for the upcoming three-Test tour of Pakistan. The series will start on December 1 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.