England’s Test captain and legendary all-rounder Ben Stokes announced a shock retirement from international cricket in the middle of the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
Stokes brought curtains to an epic 15-year England career on Monday, June 29, that had begun back in August 2011.
The all-rounder said that he had “loved every single moment” of his captaincy period, having taken over from Joe Root in 2022 and joined hands with Brendon McCullum to create an energetic Bazball template. However, he admitted he didn’t “have any more fight left in me.”
Ben Stokes had endured a tough Ashes 2025/26 series earlier, which England lost 4-1 in Australia. While his contract with the ECB runs until September 2027, Stokes said he had “burned myself out” in the period following the Ashes defeat, which also included a scary facial injury sustained in the nets in February.
Ben Stokes provided great theater on the last day of his participation in Test cricket. Right after his retirement decision was announced at 3.25pm, Stokes nicked off Zak Foulkes, causing raptures in the crowd and animated celebration among the teammates, amid a marathon 11-over spell.
Later on, Stokes made another surprise call to open the batting in England’s chase in order to “cause chaos” and smashed 30 runs off 20 balls, including two maximums.
Stokes’ returns as a batsman had certainly been on the wane in recent times. Since the beginning of 2024, Stokes has managed 1156 runs in 45 innings at a disappointing average of 26.83. Among the 30 batsmen who have batted in at least 30 innings since 2024, only six players have a worse average than Stokes, and five of them are bowlers.
Stokes’ retirement has prompted questions among the fans, in particular Indian fans, whether he will now return to the IPL, having been away from the IPL for the last three seasons.
Will Ben Stokes Enter IPL 2027 Auction After Retiring From International Cricket?
Stokes has retired from international cricket but confirmed that he will continue playing other forms of the game. He has expressed a desire to play for “his boyhood club,” Durham, in domestic cricket, and is expected to play in franchise cricket leagues, including the IPL.
For the unversed, Stokes was banned last year from the IPL mini-auction for not entering the mega-auction for IPL 2025. As per the new BCCI rules, any overseas player opting out of the mega auction will not be allowed to register for the subsequent mini-auction. So after missing IPL 2026, Stokes will be eligible to put himself in the IPL 2027 auction.
Stokes last featured in the IPL in 2023 for CSK and opted out of the last three IPL seasons to manage his injuries and workload as England’s Test captain. Now retired from international cricket, Stokes may aim to have fun in T20 leagues, and he could put his name in the IPL 2027 auction list.
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