England test captain Ben Stokes says he opted out of the bidding in the Indian Premier League to prioritize playing international cricket in what he described as the “back end” of his career.

England's Test cricket captain Ben Stokes opted out of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25. Stokes, who has played for several IPL franchises,

Captain Ben Stokes says he opted out of the Indian Premier League auction in order to prolong his England career.

Ben Stokes admits he is managing "the back end of my career" after choosing to skip the Indian Premier League and prioritise his time in international cricket.

England Test captain Ben Stokes said he opted out of the recent IPL 2025 mega auction to prolong his international career, and focus on some important assignments such as The Ashes. The newly-framed IPL rules disallow a player to enter the mini auction if he was not registered for the mega auction.

Stokes was a notable omission from the list of England players in the auction, and under new rules, if he had pulled out after being acquired by a team in the mega auction, provided it was for legitimate reasons,

Ben Stokes has revealed he did not to enter the IPL mega auction to strip back his playing commitments as he attempts to prolong the twilight of his career. Stokes was a notable omission from the list of 52 Englishmen signed up for the mega auction in Jeddah for the 2025 competition.

England captain Ben Stokes has explained why he skipped this year's IPL auction as he prepares for a huge Test series.