England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes is likely to follow his Test skipper Joe Root’s footsteps and pull out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction after a humiliating defeat in recently-concluded Ashes 2021-22. According to reports, Stokes will not register for the mega auction after widespread criticism of the England side due to poor performance in the red-ball format. The 30-year-old will prepare for the home Test series against New Zealand which will begin on June 2.
Huge monetary loss
Stokes is bound to lose at least more than a million pounds as he has always been a hot property in auctions. In 2017, he became then-most expensive overseas player in IPL auctions as his services were acquired for Rs 14.5 crore by now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS). The Pune-based franchise also managed to reach the final of IPL only to be beaten by Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians in a thriller.
Embarrassing all-round show in Australia
The English all-rounder was far from impressive in Ashes 2021-22. He scored 236 runs from 10 innings at an unimpressive average of 236 including just two half-centuries. He disappointed his side with the ball as well. Known for bowling long spells and providing breakthroughs, he was able to get just four wickets in five Test at an embarrassing average of 71.50. He remained wicketless several times during the series.
IPL record
In the previous season, Stokes was a part of Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise. He was not retained by the Rajasthan-based franchise. On the other hand, his fellow countryman Jos Buttler was retained for Rs 10 crore. He was ruled of the season after a finger injury while taking a catch against Punjab Kings.
Despite getting the big bucks in auctions, Stokes has not lived up to expectations. With the bat, he has scored 920 runs from 43 games at an average of 25.56 including two centuries and two half-centuries. In the bowling department, he has 28 wickets at an average of 34.79 and an economy rate of 8.56.
Root pulls out too
England Test skipper Root who is yet to make his IPL debut has also pulled out of the mega auction amidst widespread criticism.
“There’s a lot that we need to do for this team, which deserves all of my energy. I’ll keep sacrificing as much as I can because I care so much about Test cricket in our country and trying to get us to where we want to be,” the 31-year-old said while replying to a query regarding his IPL participation in a press conference.
