England opener Roy pulls out of IPL

England opener Jason Roy announced on Tuesday he has withdrawn from this season's Indian Premier League, in which he was due to play for new franchise Gujarat Titans.

The 10-team Twenty20 competition is scheduled to run from 26 March to 29 May.

Roy, who had a second child in early January and played in the Pakistan Super League last month, said he needed a break.

"It's with a heavy heart I have decided to pull out of this year's tournament," the 31-year-old wrote on his social media accounts.

He added, "With everything going on in the world over the last three years it's added up and taken its toll on me. I feel it's only right I spend some quality time with my family, as well as spending time working on myself and my game over the next couple of months leading into a very busy year."

Surrey, Roy's English county club, said he would also miss the "early rounds" of the 2022 County Championship, which starts in April.

Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said: "Everyone at Surrey is here to support Jason and fully understands his decision to step away from the game for a period of time in order to be with his family."

Roy, a hard-hitting opening batsman who was part of England's victorious team at the 2019 World Cup, will be hoping to make a big impact at the T20I World Cup in Australia later this year.

He suffered an injury during the 2021 tournament that ruled him out of the semi-final defeat to New Zealand.