Ben Stokes to miss IPL 2025 due to England's packed Test schedule: Reports

Ben Stokes is expected to forgo IPL 2025, prioritising England's Test series against India and Australia. Stokes last played in the IPL during the 2023 season.

In Short

• Ben Stokes likely to skip IPL 2025 to focus on England's Test schedule
• Stokes had withdrawn from IPL 2024 citing workload management
• England's 2025 cricket calendar prioritises Test matches against India and Australia

Ben Stokes is likely to skip the IPL 2025 and may not include his name in the list for the auction, according to the British media. Stokes last played in the IPL during the 2023 season, when he became CSK's most costliest player. However, he played only handful of matches and was warming the bench mostly due to an injury.

He would withdraw his name from the auction for the 2024 season and is now expected to do the same for next year. According to the Telegraph, Stokes is expected to lead a number of England players opting out of the 2025 IPL, prioritising a pivotal year for England’s Test team instead.

With the IPL’s “mega auction” registration deadline on Sunday, November 3, many England players are facing tough choices about participating due to new regulations set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the demands of the upcoming Test season. Stokes, however, is reportedly planning to skip the tournament. The IPL auction is anticipated to occur in late November, possibly hosted in Saudi Arabia.

The BCCI had brought in a new rule ahead of the IPL 2025 season, where any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for 2 Seasons.

Many feel the rule was brought in specifically for the England players as Harry Brook had withdrawn before the start of the tournament. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler would leave before the start of the IPL 2024 Playoffs, much to the frustration of their respective franchises.

England’s 2025 calendar is packed, a year they've been preparing for extensively. In Test cricket, Ben Stokes will lead the side in a home series against India and an away series against Australia, where the express pace of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer will be crucial. Given the injury history of both fast bowlers, England are carefully managing their workloads to maximise their availability for these key series, and consequently, they are unlikely to participate in the IPL.