'Have taken the tough decision...': England star withdraws from IPL 2023 to focus on longer format

The star batter has cleared the air about his IPL future a day after Jos Buttler-led England were crowned T20 World Champions in Australia.

England wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings has shared a bombshell announcement about his future in domestic cricket's biggest extravaganza - the Indian Premier League (IPL). Roped in by Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the 2022 edition of the IPL, England's Billings has decided to withdraw from the forthcoming season of the cash-rich league on Monday.

England's Ben Stokes, center, celebrates with teammates after their win against Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup (AP)

Billings cleared the air about his IPL future a day after Jos Buttler-led England were crowned T20 World Champions in Australia. Taking to Twitter on Monday, Billings confirmed that he has opted to pull out of the IPL 2023. Talking about taking the ‘tough decision’ before the mini-auction of the T20 league, the England wicketkeeper-batter asserted that he wants to focus on the longer formats of the game.

"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," Billings said in his tweet. “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.

Billings was signed by two-time champions KKR for INR 2 crore at the mega auction of the cash-rich league. The 31-year-old featured in eight matches for the Iyer-led side last season. Billings was overlooked by the KKR think tank as the Kolkata-based franchise also gave starts to wicketkeepers Sheldon Jackson and Baba Indrajith in the league phase of the world's richest T20 tournament.

With a strike rate of 122.46 and averaging 24.14, Billings managed to score 169 runs in 8 matches for the Knight Riders last season. Under the leadership of white-ball maverick Iyer, Billings-starrer Kolkata Knight Riders finished seventh on the ten-team IPL points table. Former champions KKR only managed to win six matches from 14 league games last season.