England wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings in a surprise decision has chosen not be retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Billings, who played eight matches for the Shreyas Iyer-led side in the 2022 edition, was picked by the two-time champions in the mega auction at his base price of INR 2 crore but has chosen to withdraw from the whole season of IPL.
Billings said that he wants to focus on red-ball cricket and will be playing the County Championship in the early county season for Kent. Describing it as a tough decision, Billings said that he loved his time with the Kolkata-based franchise and hoped that their paths meet in the future.
“Have taken the tough decision that I won’t be taking part in the next IPL @KKRiders. Looking to focus on longer format cricket at the start of the English summer with @kentcricket.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity @kkriders! Loved every minute of it. An amazing franchise with some brilliant people. Hopefully see you again in the future,” he added.
In eight matches, Billings scored 169 runs at an average of 22.4, striking at 122.4. Billings formed an important part of KKR middle-order alongside the likes of skipper Iyer, Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh and it was expected that franchise would retain him.
Billings’ decision means, it frees up INR 2 crore in KKR’s purse, which already was in a lot of action on Sunday (November 13) morning. KKR probably pulled off the trades of the season as they bought back New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson from Gujarat Titans and the Afghanistan Rahmanullah Gurbaz in all-cash deals. Gurbaz, an attacking wicket-keeper and opening batter was a surprise trade but with Billings opting out, it makes a lot of sense.
KKR will hope that the trades can help plug the holes which were there in the 2022 edition as they gear up for the mini-auction in December 2023. Billings will next be seen in action in the upcoming three-match ODI series for England against Australia.
