Joe Root opts out of IPL 2024

England’s star batter, Joe Root has made himself unavailable for the IPL 2024. England’s former Test skipper, Root made his IPL debut earlier this year in Rajasthan Royals’ colors, after being bought at his base price of INR 2 crore. The news has come a day before the deadline for the retention announcements. 

“During our retention conversations, Joe informed us of his decision to not take part in IPL 2024,” said Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals’ Director of Cricket. "Even in a short span of time, Joe was able to create such a positive impact on the franchise and the players around him. His energy around the group and the experience he brought to the Royals will be missed. We respect his decision totally and wish him success in everything he does."

Root featured in three games for RR in IPL 2023 but got to bat only once when he scored 10 off 15 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was also the last time Root featured in a T20 game. 

"The 32-year-old's addition to the Royals squad brought in plenty of depth and experience, which served as a learning experience for a lot of youngsters in the side like Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal in the team," Royals said in their statement.

His camaraderie with his England teammate Jos Buttler and his bonding with Yuzvendra Chahal was also one of the memorable highlights of the former England Test skipper's stint with the Royals. 

Root is the second England player to pull out of the next season of IPL. Earlier, the current England Test captain, Ben Stokes confirmed his unavailability for Chennai Super Kings. 

November 26 is the deadline for IPL franchises to announce their retained players for the next season. A mini-auction will take place in Dubai on December 19.