The IPL mega auction has suffered another fatal blow as following the example of their captain English player Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer decide to pull out as well.

The management of IPL shared a list of players participating in the mega auction with the teams on January 22 (Friday). This list consisted of the names of over 1200 (1214 to be precise) players, which didn’t include the names of players such as Stokes, Archer, and Root.

Earlier this month, Joe Root made the big announcement of opting out of the marquee tournament in order to devote his time with the English Test Team. His absence didn’t come as a shock to many, considering the previous stint he had in IPL auctions.

The English captain has gone unsold in the previous few editions of the IPL auctions as well; hence it doesn’t surprise anyone that Root decided to opt-out of the tournament to save himself the embarrassment. However, the absence of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer comes as a surprise to many.

Both Stokes and Archer have been huge names in the IPL circuit for the past few years. Playing for the Rajasthan Royal franchise, the English duo has made quite a name for themselves, despite their franchise faltering season after season.

This year could have been different for them. Since the Rajasthan squad left them out, they had the golden opportunity to switch to winning colours and get their hands on the gilded trophy.

One still has to admire their decision, though. It’s never easy to turn down a lucrative tournament like IPL, which promises hefty prize money, especially if you’re a Ben Stokes or a Jofra Archer.

The Mitchell Starc saga in IPL continues:

Another prominent name missing from this year’s IPL would be that of Mitchell Starc. This is the third consecutive year that the pace bowler has decided to out of the grand tournament.

It all started in 2020 when India was set to host the T20 world cup later in the year. Starc had made it clear that his focus was keeping himself fit and fresh for the ICC tournament. Sadly, the tournament didn’t take place that year.

Fast forward to 2021, Starc remained firm in his stance of opting out of the tournament for the World Cup. This time around, the T20 World Cup did take place, and Australia managed to lift the trophy as well. Although Starc was not a significant contributor to his side, he would be happy with his decision.

Cometh 2022, and his stance remains the same. Mitchell Starc has opted out of the IPL 2022 auction because of the T20 World Cup that is set to be played in Australia later this year.

However, the same tournament has not stopped the current Test Skipper of Australia, Pat Cummins, from joining the marquee tournament. He, along with David Warner and Steven Smith, will be featuring in the IPL 2022 mega auction.