According
to
reports
in
British
media,
Stokes
–
who
had
an
underwhelming
Ashes
–
has
decided
to
stay
away
from
the
cash-rich
league.
Stokes
scored
just
236
runs
and
picked
only
four
wickets
in
England’s
0-4
thrashing
at
the
hands
of
Australia
in
the
just-concluded
series.
The
move
could
also
be
driven
in
the
wake
of
criticism
from
England
stalwarts
including
former
skipper
David
Gower
blaming
the
T20
tournament
for
the
English
team’s
debacle
in
Test
cricket.
It
is
understood
that
Stokes,
who
could
have
again
fetched
bug
bucks,
has
decided
to
stay
away.
“Stokes
will
sit
out
this
year’s
tournament,
which
will
feature
10
teams
for
the
first
time
and
be
preceded
by
a
mega-auction
in
which
there
are
plenty
of
spaces
to
fill,”
London’s
Evening
Standard
reported.
“Stokes
has
had
a
tumultuous
time
over
the
last
couple
of
years,
with
the
death
of
his
father
Ged
13
months
ago
preceding
a
long
break
in
2021
to
prioritise
his
mental
health
and
fix
a
finger
badly
broken
at
the
IPL,”
it
wrote.
Stokes
was
a
part
of
Rajasthan
Royals
squad
during
the
2021
edition
and
during
the
postponed
first
leg
fractured
his
finger
and
was
ruled
out
of
the
tournament.
When
the
tournament
resumed
in
September,
post
COVID-19
induced
break,
Stokes
didn’t
come
back.
“Sitting
out
represents
a
significant
financial
sacrifice
but
should
also
allow
him
some
time
off
to
mentally
refresh
between
England’s
tour
of
the
Caribbean
in
March
and
the
international
summer
in
June,”
the
paper
reported.
Among
the
sought-after
English
players,
only
Moeen
Ali
(who
has
retired
from
Tests)
and
Jos
Buttler
were
retained
by
their
franchises,
Chennai
Super
Kings
and
Rajasthan
respectively.
Last
summer,
ECB
allowed
England
players,
who
were
at
the
IPL
to
sit
out
the
early-season
Tests
against
New
Zealand,
something
that
led
to
a
lot
of
criticism
as
the
rotation
policy
put
in
place
hurt
the
team’s
composition
according
to
many.
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