IPL 2023: 5 Players who will miss mega event

The inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League kick-started in 2008. It has been 15 editions since its inception and the marquee tournament has been bringing together some of the biggest names in the cricketing arena. 

With IPL 2023 all set to be played next year, fans will again witness a fierce battle among the ten star-studded franchises. However, the 16th edition of the T20 extravaganza will be devoid of certain players who have proven their mettle in the T20 circuit time and time again.

Here are five players who will miss IPL 2023:

5. Sam Billings

Sam Billings has been a proven performer in the T20 circuit. The 31-year-old has featured in 242 games in the shortest format and aggregated 4654 runs at a strike rate of 130.40. He has shown his batting prowess in the international circuit as well and scored 478 runs in 37 T20Is at a strike rate of 129.89.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) picked Billings for INR 2 CR for the 2022 season to bolster their batting line-up. However, the wicketkeeper batter was not able to set the stage on fire with his performances. He could only score 169 runs across eight games at a strike rate of 122.46. 

Billings has decided to pull out of the upcoming IPL season in order to focus on the longer format of the game. The England batter shared the news via his Twitter handle.

His tweet read "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.”

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 pic.twitter.com/7yeqcf9yi8

— Sam Billings (@sambillings) November 14, 2022

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 💜 pic.twitter.com/hxVVXfRqEE

— Sam Billings (@sambillings) November 14, 2022

Hence, the Kolkata franchise did not retain Billings for the next season of the T20 extravaganza.