IPL 2021: Jason Roy replaces Mitchell Marsh at Sunrisers Hyderabad

England opener teams up with Jonny Bairstow ahead of new season

England batsman Jason Roy joins teammate Jonny Bairstow at Sunrisers Hyderabad. Getty

Sunrisers Hyderabad will be able to reprise one of international cricket’s most successful partnerships, after recruiting Jason Roy as a replacement player ahead of the IPL.

The England opener has been brought in in place of Mitchell Marsh, the Australia allrounder, who has made himself unavailable due to personal reasons.

The move will pitch Roy, who opted out of the 2020 IPL in the UAE as he sought to focus on fitness, into the same squad as Jonny Bairstow.

The two have formed a formidable alliance at the top of the order in one-day international cricket, and were in partnership when England won the 2019 World Cup.

Whether they are reunited together opening in the orange of Hyderabad seems dependent on the fitness of the captain David Warner.

Warner is one of the most prolific overseas batsmen in IPL history, and is a sure starter when fit.

However, the Australia opener is nursing a groin injury which he has said will need careful management for some while yet.

His compatriot Marsh has also had injury problems of his own. His 2020 IPL campaign ended almost as soon as it had begun, when he hobbled off in a match in Dubai after injury an ankle while bowling.

Roy has been recruited for his base price of around $270,000.

________________________________________________

IPL 2021 top salary earners