England’s Ben Duckett has withdrawn from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, according to a report by The Telegraph. In his interview to the English news portal, the left-handed opener has said that he wants to apologise for his decision for pulling out of the tournament so close to the start of the season.
“It was a very difficult decision, and I want to apologise to everyone at Delhi that I won’t be coming,” Duckett said. The decision now leaves him ineligible to play in the league until 2029.
In 2024, the IPL introduced a rule stating that overseas players who make themselves unavailable for a season after being bought at the auction — without providing a legitimate reason — will face a two-year ban.
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Duckett was bought by Delhi Capitals at the previous IPL auction at his base price of Rs. 2 crore. Duckett’s compatriot and team-mate Harry Brook is serving a ban after withdrawing from his deal, ironically with Delhi, shortly before the start of the 2025 season.
The 31 year-old has said that he is missing out on the opportunity to play in the best competition in the world.
“I felt it was going to be a great opportunity when I put myself in the auction, and for a franchise like Delhi to pick me up was amazing. I was buzzing. It’s the best competition in the world with the best players, and would have been an amazing experience,” Duckett added.
Duckett now wants to focus on getting fitter and play in the County Championship in order to prepare for the English summer.
“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 (Nottinghamshire), and try to find that form I had last summer,” Duckett said.
Duckett had a horrible run in the Ashes as he could only score only 221 runs in 10 innings. He then lost his place in the T20Is as well as he warmed the benches all through the T20 World Cup.
“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,” Duckett said.
The Englishman feared that he would have spent most of the IPL season by the sidelines and would have got little time to reflect on what went wrong during the Ashes and the T20 World Cup.
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“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,” Duckett added.
Duckett is desperate to play in all three formats for England for the remainder of his career and he feels his decision to move away from the IPL proves “pivotal.”
“I’m desperate to play all three formats for England for as long as I can, this is a decision I hope I will look back on in 10 years and see this as a pivotal moment in my career, and the right decision. It will being doing everything I can to be ready for England.” he said.
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