Ben Stokes will miss the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the England Test captain failed to report for the mega auction, scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 24 and 25. Stokes’ name was missing from the long list of 1,574 players who have signed up for the player’s auction. For the uninitiated, Stokes will not be eligible to register for the IPL 2026 mini-auction, meaning he will be ruled out of playing next season as well.
According to the IPL governing council’s new rule, “All overseas players must register for the Grand Auction. If the overseas player does not register, he will not be eligible to register in the next year’s player auction.”
The 33-year-old also decided to miss the final season of the IPL to manage his workload and focus on his fitness. At the same time, Stokes’ compatriot James Andersson has registered for the IPL for the very first time.
The 42-year-old Anderson, who retired from Test cricket earlier this year, last played a T20 10 years ago in 2014.
Ace Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyonwhich has gone unsold in previous auctions, has also entered the fray with a base price of Rs 2 crore.
Australian pacer Mitchell Starcwho was the most expensive buy in the last IPL auction at a price of Rs 24.50 crore, is back in the pool for this year’s auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore.
England quickly Jofra Archerwho last played in the 2023 edition, is also listed for the same base price.
With up to six players allowed to be retained ahead of the mega auction, IPL teams can build a squad of 25 players each and there will be 204 spots available after 46 players are retained by 10 teams combined.
Each team will have a total purse of Rs 120 crore as Punjab Kings have the biggest purse of Rs 110.5 crore, followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru with Rs 83 crore, Delhi Capitals with Rs 73 crore and Gujarat Titans with Rs 69 crore.
Lucknow Super Giants will also have Rs 69 crore in their purse while five-time winners Chennai Super Kings will have Rs 55 crore.
Last year’s winners Kolkata Knight Riders will participate in the auction with Rs 51 crore in the purse while five-time champions Mumbai Indians will have Rs 45 crore, last year’s runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad will have Rs 45 crore and Rajasthan Royals will have Rs 41 crore.
(With PTI inputs)
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