"It was such a freak thing" - Jason Roy on his calf injury during the 2021 T20 World Cup
England opener Jason Roy has opened up about his injury in the 2021 World T20, which affected his team's promising campaign. Roy believes England played some of their best T20 cricket before his injury undid everything.
Roy sustained a calf injury while batting in England's final group game against South Africa. As a result, the destructive opener couldn't bat further in the fixture, which they lost narrowly. His absence in the semi-final against New Zealand deprived England of a rollicking start as the Kiwis progressed to the final.
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Reflecting on his injury, the opener recalled knowing he was out of the World Cup, as the calf pain was unbearable. The 31-year old said that he has hardly had issues with his calf, and injured it on the soft spot of the turf.
The right-hander was quoted as saying in this regard by Daily Mail:
"I was in excruciating pain, and I immediately knew that was my World Cup over. I was feeling good, and we were in a great place as a team; everything was just perfect."
"We were playing some of the best T20 cricket we've ever played - even just talking about it brings back pretty crap memories. It was such a freak thing, as I've never, ever had any issues with my calf. I wasn't even sprinting at full speed; I was just jogging, and it pinged, after fielding on the soft ground."
The South African-born English player warmed up for the T20 series against the West Indies with a blazing 36-ball ton. The right-hander's 115 lifted England to 237 in the warm-up game, enabling them to register a 94-run win.
"You've just got to go out there and do your best and do your job for the team" - Jason Roy
Despite the absence of stalwarts like Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow, the white-ball specialist denied any pressure of expectations. He added:
"You can't worry about whether there's a lot of pressure because if that fear of failure starts creeping in, then you just do rubbish. You've just got to go out there and do your best and do your job for the team."
115 off 47 balls with 19 boundaries! 🏏💥
Highlights of JRoy's century here 👇
The first T20I between the West Indies and England starts in Barbados on Sunday, 23rd January.