England white-ball opener Jason Roy has confirmed that a "personal preference" after realisation that he should instead prioritise getting his body right made him skip the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE, starting September 19.
The right-hand batsman reasoned the injury issues as well as a hectic schedule during IPL 2020 behind not making himself available for Delhi Capitals (DC).
"I can spend the next couple of months looking after myself and getting back to where I should be cricket-wise," Roy, sitting out of this week's Pakistan T20Is due to a side strain, told Cricbuzz.
"During Covid and the lockdown, my running was good and cycling and all the stuff that ticks you over and makes you feel good but then you come to the specifics and you are a little bit behind because you don't have the opportunity to net."
"So, I just think it is a nice opportunity to do that and looking at the schedule over there it's pretty hectic, so it'll be a nice opportunity to get fit and raring to go again."
The 30-year-old felt frustrated after going down with the injury within England's bio-secure bubble in Manchester ahead of the Pakistan series.
"It was a weird one. I thought I'd go and do some range hitting to see where I was at and hit a couple and I was like 'sweet, I haven't forgotten how to hit a ball' and then I put a lot of effort into a couple and kind of felt it; it was a bit awkward. And then I just pulled out straight away, left it for a day, and was like 'nah, something has happened'."
Roy, a key member of England's last year's successful World Cup campaign, is now hoping to regain full fitness in time for the limited-overs series against Australia, starting September 4 with first of three T20Is before the three ICC Super League ODIs.
He is also finding positives out of COVID-19 pandemic enforcing bubbles in Southampton and Manchester as a way of keeping the side together and stressing home the team culture and values to the youngsters.
"That's why it is quite good to have these bubbles. People coming in understand the culture that we are trying to leave. That's the main thing: all the players have got the skills and abilities but the culture surrounding how we play our cricket is the most important thing. So, hopefully, we can just keep that rhythm," said Roy, adding that England has already left the 50-over World Cup glory to the past in their quest to look forward and try regaining the T20 World Cup title in India next year.
"We've done that, we've ticked that box, now we need to keep going with the T20 World Cup, we want to hold both of those. That's what we've always done well as a side, we've looked forward."
"We've had a game and done well or badly but learned from it and left it and then moved on to the next. So, it'll always hold a special space in our heart, but we have to look forward," he signed off.
