Ben Stokes Ruled Out Of IPL 2026: Legendary all-rounder Ben Stokes is all-set to miss out on the Indian Premier League action for the 2025 and 2026 editions, as the Englishman has reportedly opted out from the official list of 1574 players to go under the hammer at the IPL 2025 Mega Auction on 23 and 24 November in Jeddah.
READ HERE | IPL 2025 Mega Auction Shocker: Ben Stokes 'Reportedly' Not Included In List Of 1574 Players
The BCCI had officially announced the dates for the IPL 2025 Mega Auction and the list of players who are subject to knowing their fate for the upcoming season of IPL. The likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal will be a part of the list.
Several questions have arised on the status of Ben Stokes in IPL, as rumours of him getting banned are circulating. However, the former CSK all-rounder will not be facing a ban because of the following reasons:
1. Why Has Ben Stokes Been Ruled Out For IPL 2026?
When BCCI released the official rules and regulations for Player Retentions ahead of the Mega Auction, the rule book clearly stated that the Overseas player have to register themselves in-order to play in the IPL, else, a failure to do so will prevent them from playing in the tournament for the next two editions.
"Any Overseas Player will have to register for the Big Auction. In case the overseas player doesn’t register, then he will be ineligible to register in the following year’s player auction."
Therefore, Ben Stokes will now not become a part of IPL until the 2027 edition.
2. Why Is There No Ban On Ben Stokes' Participation In IPL?
The rule book also states that any player (be it foreigner or Indian) fails to make himself available for the forthcoming IPL season after getting picked in the IPL Auction, will face a 2-season ban from the competition.
Therefore, inspite of Ben Stokes getting ruled out for IPL 2026, he won't be facing a ban as he has not registered himself in the Auction List.
"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."