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Cricket PlayersBen Duckett pulls out of IPL 2026, set to be banned from tournament for two years: ‘Did this to be ready for England'
England opening batter Ben Duckett has pulled out of the IPL 2026 edition to save his international career.
England opening batter Ben Duckett withdrew from the upcoming 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season on Tuesday. The left-hander was all set to represent the Delhi Capitals in the tournament, which begins on March 28. Duckett, 31, was picked by the franchise for INR 2 crore in the mini auction last year. However, just days before the start of the IPL 2026 season, Duckett announced he wouldn't be touring India for the T20 tournament, as he wants to prolong his England career and keep giving his best across all three formats of the game.
Duckett has been surrounded by controversies ever since the Ashes last year, where England lost 4-1. He managed just 202 runs in the five-match series. To make matters worse, he was also found inebriated during England's Noosa trip between the second Test and the third Ashes Test against Australia.
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"Hello all. I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the IPL. I have given this a lot of thought, and it has not been an easy choice. Representing England is something I have dreamed of since I was a child, and I want to give everything I can to English cricket. To do that, I need to ensure I am in the best possible place physically and mentally ahead of the summer,” wrote Duckett on Instagram Stories.
“I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone in Delhi. I was genuinely very excited about the opportunity to represent the franchise, and I fully appreciate the time and planning that goes into building a squad. I am sorry for any disruption my decision may cause. I would also like to apologise to all the fans as I know how much it means to everyone in Delhi,” he added.
Duckett now plans to go back to the drawing board and play some County Championship matches ahead of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. It is worth noting that the County Championship is all set to begin on April 3 and the left-hander will represent Nottinghamshire.
“I’ve made this decision on my own accord. I’ve spent a lot of time away from home in different places, and it felt like the best thing for me to do to be ready to play for England is to be here right now, at home, refreshing my mind and body. More importantly, play some four-day cricket for Notts, and try to find that form I had last summer,” he told The Telegraph Sport in another interview.
“We all have different journeys, but my journey into the Test team has come from county cricket. I know how valuable that is for me, scoring runs in the Championship and the confidence that gives me going into the rest of the summer. I could have gone to the IPL, spent time on the sidelines, then rushed back into the Test summer. I wouldn’t have time to process the winter, learn from mistakes, and go back to the drawing board with Notts,” he added.
Duckett can be banned from the IPL
Owing to his decision to pull out of the tournament at the last minute, Duckett is now running the risk of being banned from the tournament for a couple of seasons. The IPL governing council introduced a rule in 2024 stating that an overseas player can be banned from the tournament if he pulls out at the last minute after being picked in the auction.
"Any [overseas] player who registers for [an] auction and, after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season will get banned from participating in the IPL/IPL auction for two seasons," the IPL governing council stated in a note to franchisees.
Earlier, England's white-ball captain Harry Brook was banned from the IPL for two seasons after he pulled out of his IPL contract at the last minute. Coincidentally, he too was picked by the Delhi Capitals when that incident happened.
