England cricket team batter Ben Duckett has informed Delhi Capitals that he will be withdrawing from IPL 2026, according to a report by The Telegraph. 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, the report claimed that he will not be playing this season and as a result, the IPL authorities can hand him a two-year ban. “It was a very difficult decision, and I want to apologise to everyone at Delhi that I won’t be coming,” he tells Telegraph Sport.
“I felt it was going to be a great opportunity when I put myself in the auction, and for a franchise like Delhi to pick me up was amazing. I was buzzing. It’s the best competition in the world with the best players, and would have been an amazing experience.”
“I don’t know if I’m potentially saying goodbye to the IPL, having never played in it. With the age I am now, it might be tough for me, but I hope one day I’m able to represent Delhi. But I’ve thought a lot about this, and know it’s the right decision for my career,” he added.
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.”