The great betrayal at Delhi Capitals: Judas of the moment, Ben Duckett should drink less so that he can think clearly

This is way too last-minute, if truth be told. Just an apology won't do. Ben Duckett has taken Delhi Capitals for a ride.

What England opener Ben Duckett has done days before the kick-off of Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 19 is totally scorn-worthy.

Things have gone from bad to worse for Ben Duckett since India's tour of England last year. (Action Images via Reuters)

Earlier this week, on Monday, IPL side Delhi Capitals had a press conference in the national capital where they had confidently stated how they had reinforced their squad for the upcoming season, especially in the opening and fast bowling departments.

Duckett, a very aggressive and potent opener, deciding to pull out of the league a couple of days later would have rattled them not a little. They were banking on him. Last year, Duckett's white-ball captain at England, Harry Brook, had pulled the same thing on Delhi Capitals.

Duckett's explanation has been that he wants to focus on his England career. That's perfectly fine, but it's a last-minute call he has made, which suggests there might be more to it. It may not be that simple. There is a possibility that he is trying to appease the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who recently decided to retain coach Brendon McCullum, Test captain Ben Stokes and director of cricket Rob Key despite an ignominious Ashes 4-1 defeat earlier this year.

During that high-profile series, Duckett was pictured super drunk at Noosa, one of the popular holiday destinations in Australia. Not just him, several other members of the touring party were slammed for switching to holiday mode right in the middle of the series. England went to Noosa after the win at the MCG. After Noosa, they never won again or drew any match for that matter. Duckett’s call perfectly coincides with the decision on the three above.

An act of contrition? Or a well thought-out move?

So maybe to prove to the ECB how sorry he is, he has pulled out of the 2026 IPL. The league is the biggest paymaster in world cricket, and now Duckett will not only lose ₹2 crore, but he is also likely to be banned. There are more possibilities.

By the IPL's standards, where a lot of players make millions of dollars or pounds, it's not a lot of money, so Duckett may have thought, it's not worth it, for all the efforts that it would have demanded from him. Then there is a third possibility, that maybe he realised he may not get too many opportunities at Delhi anyway, it's better he stayed back in England and played County Cricket for Notts. Or finally, maybe the ongoing Iran-Israel-America situation in West Asia and the Middle East may have led to his chickening out.

If it's the last one, maybe he can be forgiven, but if it's not, he has not only let down his franchise, he has also made a fool of himself. He has made the call very late. The Capitals are not like Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings or Kolkata Knight Riders, who have multiple IPL trophies to their name.

Delhi are yet to win their maiden IPL trophy. So Duckett should have thought about how his pull-out could likely be a spanner in their preparations. He has apologised to the franchise, but that's not sufficient.

He should promise that going forward, he won't play franchise cricket other than the one in England. That would be his true atonement. The IPL is not a joke. He is an international cricketer and should have learnt his lessons from the Brook withdrawal last year and the Chris Woakes withdrawal before. Maybe he should drink less so that he can think clearly.