"IPL is the biggest domestic tournament in the world" - Sam Billings excited to play IPL 2022 matches in India

Sam Billings has played 215 T20 matches in his career (PC: Getty Images)

England wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings will play his first IPL season for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) this year. The 30-year-old has previously represented the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the league.

Ahead of his KKR debut, Billings has expressed his excitement over returning to India for IPL matches. India will host IPL games with a live audience in the stadiums for the first time since 2019.

Commenting on the start of a new season, Sam Billings told Kolkata Knight Riders in a social media video:

"Sam Hai Taiyaar. KKR Hai Taiyaar. I think the IPL is the biggest domestic tournament in the world. You don't need to say anything more than that. It's my sixth year and absolutely love playing over here in India.

"I think the support, the fans take it to a completely different dimension to any other sport in the world," Billings added. "You've got 1.2 billion people or so. And everyone absolutely loves cricket. So it's a pleasure for players to play here. It's an honor to play here."

"𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘳, 𝘒𝘒𝘙 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘳" 💜

Ready & raring to go! 👊

@sambillings #KKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar #GalaxyOfKnights #IPL2022 https://t.co/WodSeJxu2j

Click here to view the IPL 2022 Venue.

Sam Billings has not played an IPL match since 2019

Billings is a veteran of 215 T20 matches, but has played only 22 games in his IPL career. The England wicket-keeper has represented the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals in 11 matches each.

He scored a match-winning 50 for CSK against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018, but overall, he has managed only 108 runs in 11 matches for Chennai. Billings' numbers were better for DC as he aggregated 226 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 134.52.

. @KKRiders 🙏🏼💜 https://t.co/j8YO8A7AYN

It will be interesting to see how Billings performs for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022. He is likely to be a part of KKR's playing XI for the opening game against CSK.