Dubai, Oct 21 (IANS): England opener Jason Roy on Thursday said that playing in the IPL 2021 in the UAE venues just before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup brings a lot of benefits. He added that playing in the IPL 2021 has helped in knowing what to expect from the pitches.

"I think it would have a lot of benefits. I feel as if being in the IPL, training on these pitches, being around the players has definitely helped as far as mindset and getting used to these pitches and knowing what to expect. So, the boys that have been out here have a pretty big advantage I think," said Roy, who will play for Delhi Bulls in the Abu Dhabi T10 League after the T20 World Cup ends, during a virtual interaction on Thursday.

Roy expressed his dejection on Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer along with Sam Curran missing the marquee tournament for England. While Stokes is on an indefinite break from the game due to mental well-being and recovering from a left index finger injury, Archer has been ruled out of cricketing action for the rest of the year due to a recurrence of a stress fracture in his right elbow.

"I wouldn't say it's a problem. It's a shame. It's definitely a shame not having those two here. But you know they're on the same path of getting fit and healthy again and Jofra was obviously injured. Sam Curran obviously hurt his back during the IPL."

But Roy asserted that England have the depth in their squad to cover up for the trio's absence. "You look at the depth of our squad. Now, the players we have found are still extremely impressive. The boys showed that they came out and played well in the warm-up game. They've been training extremely hard."

"So, I don't think it's a worry at all. We've got players that will definitely 100 percent step up, rise to the occasion. They have more than enough skills. I can tell you that from training, all that facing in the nets. There's more than enough skill that can take us all the way."

Roy believed that England possessed the skills to tackle the slow nature of pitches in the UAE during the T20 World Cup. "I don't think so. I think we've shown our skill on most tracks. I mean, the pitches aren't horrendous. They're just a bit slow, so that's not a problem. The amount of training we've had, the camp we had in Oman, and then obviously a lot of the boys playing in the IPL."

"So, there's a lot of feedback, knowledge going around about how to combat whatever you might come across. So, now I think the boys have the skill to combat whatever pitch was supplied with."

The 31-year-old concluded by saying that South Africa and India are the biggest threats for England in the competition. "In our own group, South Africa. They had a great warm-up game last night (against Pakistan). They are playing some good cricket and you can never write them off with some talented cricketers and match-winners there. India, obviously, in the other group, have been part of the IPL. They are playing some amazing cricket as well."