“I’m Sorry”: England Star Ben Duckett Pulls Out Of IPL 2026, Can Face Tough Punishment

England cricket team batter Ben Duckett has informed Delhi Capitals that he will be withdrawing from IPL 2026. Duckett was bought for Rs 2 crore by Delhi Capitals in the auction and was being considered to be one of the options to open the batting along with KL Rahul. However, he will not be playing this season and as a result, the IPL authorities can hand him a two-year ban. “I have made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the IPL. I have given this a lot of thought and it has not been an easy choice. Representing England is something I have dreamed of since I was a child, and I want to give everything I can to English cricket. To do that, I need to ensure I am in the best possible place physically and mentally ahead of the summer,” Duckett wrote on his instagram account.

“I would like to sincerely apologise to everyone at Delhi. I was genuinely very excited about the opportunity to represent the franchise, and I fully appreciate the time and planning that goes into building a squad. I am sorry for any disruption my decision may cause. I would also like to apologise to all the fans as I know how much it means to everyone in Delhi.”

Duckett said that the decision to not play in the IPL was a result of his poor run of form in the winter. The left-handed batter scored 221 runs at an average of 20.2 in the Ashes series. He was part of the T20 World Cup 2026 squad but did not play a single game in the competition.

“Everything I had done for four years was building to that moment,” he said.

“And this could have been the best 12 months of my life. I got married in October, then hoped to win the Ashes down under, play a World Cup and win that. That was my vision at the start of the winter. The getting married bit is there, and I’m so happy about that! But after that? It couldn’t really have gone much worse,” he said in an interview with Telegraph Sport.