New Delhi: England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes has opted out of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 to manage workload and help his team recover from a bad phase, UK's Evening Standard reported as per ANI.
The report suggests that Stokes wants to focus on England's home series in the summer season. His recent performance in the Ashes 2021-22 Test series was disappointing. The all-rounder scored just 236 runs and bagged only four wickets. England suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat against Australia in Ashes.
Earlier during IPL 2021, Stokes, who then played for Rajasthan Royals, had to leave the tournament midway as he wanted to take care of his mental health. The franchise decided to not retain him for the upcoming edition of the league ahead of mega-auction.
Stokes is not the first English player to opt out from IPL 15. Before him, skipper Joe Root had also decided to not take part in the cash-rich tournament to rebuild the national team and get things back together.
"I didn't (give his name for auction), no, I think that there's a lot that we need to do for this team, which deserves all of my energy. I really hope I get the opportunity to do it. 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 can," said Root during a virtual press conference.
Due to rising coronavirus cases, a threat looms large over IPL 2022's plausible venues and match dates. BCCI is yet to finalise the dates and venue for the mega auction.