In order to prioritize his Test cricket duties, England’s red-ball skipper Ben Stokes is planning to skip the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega-auction.

Stokes had also missed the prior mega-auction. His last IPL appearance came in 2023 when he was part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad.

The IPL has introduced rules to tackle player withdrawals. Players could face a two-year ban if they pull out from the cash-rich league without a valid reason.

Stokes played only two matches in the IPL 2023 before an injury kept him out of the playing XI. He also made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness.

According to report published in The Telegraph, Stokes' decision might mean he is considering a return to white-ball cricket as well. His last T20I appearance was in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Despite retiring from ODIs, he returned for the 2023 World Cup in India.

With Brendon McCullum set to take over as England’s white-ball head coach ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy, Stokes has hinted at possibly playing ODIs again.

Stokes' schedule in 2025 is already jam-packed, focusing on the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The Three Lions are yet to qualify for the WTC final despite the one-off match being held in England repeatedly.

England's 2025-27 WTC cycle includes home and away Test series against India and Australia. Being an all-rounder, Stokes will need to manage his workload given his injury history.