IPL 2025 auction: Ben Stokes opts out of auction pool; James Anderson, Jofra Archer register — reports

England international Ben Stokes has opted out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 player mega auction, according to news reports on Tuesday.

The England Test captain last played for the Chennai Super Kings, which signed him for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore in 2022, during the 2023 season before pulling out of the competition mid-way due to a knee injury. He opted out of the 2024 season to manage his workload.

The 33-year-old had requested to not be included in the England squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies earlier this year.

Stokes not registering for the mega auction means he will not be allowed to put his name for the subsequent mini-auctions in the upcoming seasons.

According to reports, former international James Anderson, who has never been a part of IPL and last played a T20 in 2014, has put his name in the list of players. Jofra Archer and Mitchell Starc are the other major international stars going under the hammer.