World Cup 2023: ‘Disappointed’ Jason Roy keen on travelling to India as reserve – Matthew Mott

Defending champions England is due to land in India for the World Cup 2023 starting October 5, and head coach Matthew Mott reveals overlooked star batter Jason Roy is keen on getting on that plane, even as a travelling reserve. With England choosing young Harry Brook over Roy at the last minute despite Jason getting included in the provisional squad ahead of Brook, Mott revealed the Surrey batter is as disappointed as anyone would be to miss out on the spot.

Speaking on the sidelines of the England Team’s mandatory lunch at the Lord’s before they fly to India for the marquee event on Wednesday, Mott said Roy would have cherished the chance to play against Ireland, but back issues kept him out of the scheme of things.

"Yes, absolutely - never in question," Mott said, regarding Roy's willingness to be a reserve. "He is strongly keen to get on that plane. He is incredibly disappointed, as you would expect. He is very determined if an opportunity opens up again that he is on that plane."

Speaking on Roy suffering the poor fate of missing out on the final 15, Mott added, "I know a lot of people speculate about him not playing here [against Ireland], but he was never down to play in this series. So that was not a big thing from our point of view. This time at home for him, if this opportunity does come up, I think it will serve him well."

Although ICC’s rule of every country naming their final 15six weeks before the start of a major event comes as a blow for a few sides, given the conditions of some of their injured and players on the borderline of attaining fitness, Mott feels there is a lot to learn from Roy’s situation.

Mott claimed if given an opportunity, Roy would be the first to grab it from both hands, as it should be.

"Observing him from a distance during his career, he's gone through a number of ups and downs, and he has come out and averaged 40 and with a strike rate of nearly 100 for his career. I have absolute confidence if he got that opportunity, he'd come, and he's got a point to prove as well. We'd love to be proven that we got it wrong. But equally, we'd want 15 fit players, so hopefully, that's what happens,” Mott said of Roy.

Final XI against NZ not decided yet

Admitting that as a unit, they are closing in on finalising the final XI for the CWC opener against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, Mott said they would take the call closer to the match day.

"We're close, but it's still a while away," Mott said.

"And we don't know how guys will pull up, [it is] a quick turnaround when we land in India. We've got a rough idea, and then it's about the opposition, whether we go batter-heavy, bowler-heavy. The squad we have picked gives us great flexibility,” the head coach added.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE