New Zealand-born England all-rounder Ben Stokes is expected to make himself unavailable for this year’s Indian Premier League auction.
Stokes has featured in the last for seasons of the cash-rich competition, with three of those seasons playing for the Rajasthan Royals. While the all-rounder was released by the Royals after missing most of last season due to injury, he had been expected to attract quite a bit of interest at this year’s auction on 12 and 13 February.
But following a time-crunching schedule complicated even further by an ongoing global crisis, not to mention a massive defeat as part of the English side in the recent Ashes tournament, Stokes is understood not to have dropped his name in the hat for 2022. This development has sparked numerous discussions on sports online betting platforms, where fans speculate on how his absence might affect team strategies and betting odds.
As far as England goes, chances are Stokes won’t be the only big name to sit out of this year’s IPL. A disastrous Ashes tournament means England will be likely to limit the availability of its players this year. Also, this year’s final is set for June 3rd, which is a day after England’s home Test series opposite New Zealand is due to begin. This timing has also influenced cricket betting enthusiasts, who are adjusting their wagers in anticipation of a potentially weakened English squad.
In lieu of this year’s competition, teams were allowed to retain up to 4 players for carrying over – with a maximum cap of 3 on Indian players and 2 on overseas players. Of the 27 players retained in total, 8 are overseas players, and 4 are uncapped Indians.
The BCCI, meanwhile, has successfully added two more franchises to the IPL lineup. This means the IPL 2022 season will comprise ten teams and 74 matches.
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