Ben Stokes is likely to lead a string of key England players sitting out the 2025 Indian Premier League ahead of a huge year for his Test team.

England players are facing tricky decisions over whether to enter the auction for next year’s tournament because of new regulations put in place by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and the enormity of the year for the Test team, but it is understood that Stokes is not intending to play in it.

Sunday is the deadline to register for the IPL’s “mega auction”, which is expected to take place in the final week of November, possibly in Saudi Arabia. At a mega auction, which happens every few years in a bid to ensure competitive balance and keep the tournament fresh, each team can only retain five players, meaning there is high turnover on lists, and potentially huge paydays for players. The 10 teams revealed their retentions yesterday, with no English players on the list.

Withdrawals from English players led to rule changes

IPL organisers have tightened their rules this year to prevent players from pulling out of the tournament at late notice for reasons other than injury. Players who withdraw once selected could face two-year bans from the tournament. 

A string of withdrawals from English players this year frustrated IPL franchises, leading to the regulation changes. Reasons for withdrawals vary; Harry Brook has been nominated for the auction after withdrawing following the death of his grandmother Pauline this year, while others have appeared to mask a disappointment over their price by pulling out for “personal reasons”.

IPL organisers are also asking for more commitment at the auction stage. Players who have played in the tournament previously have to enter this year’s auction if they wish to be involved in the tournament at any time over the next three years. Therefore the likes of Ben Duckett or Jamie Smith could enter for 2026 without entering for 2025 because they have not played before. But Stokes or Joe Root must enter this year if they wish to be involved in any of the next three editions.

It is understood that some English players are set to enter the auction this year, but declaring themselves unavailable for the whole season in the hope that that makes them eligible to go under the hammer in 2026 or 2027.

It is unclear whether Stokes will be among that number, or if he will not enter at all. The latter option would be brave as it effectively rules himself out of the IPL until he is 36, unless regulations change again or loopholes emerge. As a superstar all-rounder with a huge global profile, Stokes would be likely to be picked up in the auction, although as he plays so little T20 cricket these days, it is hard to know how much for. Stokes has played for three different teams at the IPL and is a previous winner of the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, but has played just three IPL matches in the last four years for a variety of reasons, including prioritising England.

All-rounder could make white-ball comeback for England

Stokes’ decision could indicate his readiness to continue his international white-ball career, too. He is not currently retired from either ODIs or T20Is but did withdraw from the T20 World Cup this year to prioritise Test cricket, and has not played either format for almost a year. England travel to India under the coaching of Stokes’s ally Brendon McCullum in January before the Champions Trophy. 

The next T20 World Cup is in early 2026, after the Ashes, and the next ODI World Cup is a year later. Stokes also has a chunky deal – thought to be worth £800,000 – to play for MI Cape Town in South Africa’s SA20 competition in the new year.

Stokes revealed on Wednesday that his house was burgled while he was on the recent Test tour of Pakistan. Police confirmed on Friday that they had arrested a 32-year-old man from North Yorkshire on suspicion of the burglary.

Even without Stokes, a total of between 40 and 60 Englishmen are set to enter the auction, including a number of Test players. Whether prized international assets like Mark Wood or Jofra Archer are among them is unclear, however.

England have an extremely busy 2025, which they have been building towards for some months. In Test cricket, Stokes will lead England at home against India and away to Australia, series for which the high pace of the likes of Wood and Archer are considered extremely important. England are keen to manage the injury-prone pair’s workload very closely in the coming months in order to get the most out of them in Test cricket in 2025, and do not want them playing in the tournament.

However, it is difficult to block them from entering the auction, given that would effectively bar them from the IPL for the next three years. It is therefore likely that their names will be put forward for auction but with little to no availability in 2025, reducing their attractiveness to franchises.

Both men are centrally contracted. Wood’s runs until October 2026, with Archer’s a year shorter, but he is certain to be offered extended terms next year. That gives England control over which leagues they enter.