Ben Duckett pulls out of IPL 2026

Ben Duckett has decided against featuring in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, choosing to put all his focus on his England career. Duckett was a INR 2 crore signing for the Delhi Capitals, who also have Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka as an overseas opening option. With this decision, Duckett will be banned from putting his name in the next two player auctions and cannot feature in IPL 2027 and 2028.

"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," Duckett wrote on his instagram account.

"I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone at 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."

Duckett's big decision comes after he endured a tough Ashes series, where he scored just 202 runs in 10 innings at an average of 20.20. For a batter looking to keep his Test spot for the start of the home summer - against New Zealand in early June - he will now get to feature for Nottinghamshire in the County championship, which begins on April 3 and runs parallely with IPL 2026.

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