Rahmanullah Gurbaz expected to replace Jason Roy at Gujarat Titans

The England international pulled out of the 2022 IPL earlier in March after opting to take an extended break from cricket to spend time with his family

Gujarat Titans are expected to announce Rahmanullah Gurbaz as a replacement signing for Jason Roy.

The Titans, one of two new franchises in the Indian Premier League, signed Roy for 2 crore (198,000) at February’s mega auction.

However, the England international later pulled out of the 2022 edition after opting to take an extended break from cricket to spend time with his family.

If recruited, Gurbaz is a like-for-like swap for Roy at the top of the order as well as offering the Titans an additional wicketkeeping option alongside Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha.

^{Jason Roy has opted to take a break from cricket [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

The 20-year-old, who went unsold at the auction, is yet to appear in the IPL but has enjoyed T20 stints in the Bangladesh Premier League, PSL and Lanka Premier League. He is also due to represent Leicestershire Foxes in the 2022 T20 Blast.

In 69 T20 appearances, Gurbaz has scored 1,620 runs at a strike rate of 151.82, marking himself out as an dangerous top-order batter.

He would become the third Afghanistan international in the Titans squad, joining Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad.