England‘s premier all-rounder Ben Stokes is likely to opt-out from this year’s IPL Mega auction to manage his workload for the home summer. According to a report in London’s Evening Standard, Stokes will take a break between the West Indies tour and home season to stay fresh for the long home season.

Ben Stokes was previously part of Rajasthan Royals in IPL but he missed most part of last season due to a finger injury. The all-rounder was at the center of criticism after the Ashes debacle.

Ben Stokes, England all-rounder (Photo | AP)

“Stokes will sit out this year’s tournament, which will feature 10 teams for the first time and be preceded by a mega-auction in which there are plenty of spaces to fill,” London’s Evening Standard reported.

Notable that Stokes had an underwhelming Ashes down under as the all-rounder scored just 236 runs in 10 innings with an average of 23.6 which included 2 fifties. Also, he could pick only 4 wickets with an average of 71.50.

“Stokes has had a tumultuous time over the last couple of years, with the death of his father Ged 13 months ago preceding a long break in 2021 to prioritise his mental health and fix a finger badly broken at the IPL,” the report added.

Rajasthan Royals batsmen Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson Photograph: BCCI/IPL

Ben Stokes played 31 matches for Rajasthan Royals

Stokes missed most part of last home season as he took a break to focus on mental health and recover from a finger injury. England had a torrid time in Test cricket at home last season as they lost the 2-Test match series by 0-1 and are also trailing by 1-2 against India in a 5-match.

“Sitting out represents a significant financial sacrifice but should also allow him some time off to mentally refresh between England’s tour of the Caribbean in March and the international summer in June,” it stated.

Ben Stokes was picked by Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 auction and since then they retained him for 4 years. The all-rounder played 31 matches for them in 4 years.

It will be interesting to see if other English players make themselves available for the mega auction. Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali have already been retained by Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings.

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