It took Delhi Capitals (DC) almost a full month to confirm their replacement for Ben Duckett, who had pulled out of the IPL 2026 before the tournament began.
With less than a week to go for the start of the 19th edition of the IPL last month, Duckett threw a spanner in the works of the DC team management as he withdrew from the tournament to focus on reviving his Test career after a disappointing Ashes series in Australia.
Duckett had said that it was a “very difficult decision, and I want to apologise to everyone at Delhi that I won’t be coming.”
The left-handed opener had endured a tough time during the lost Ashes campaign down under, scoring only 202 runs in 10 innings across the five-Test series that Australia won 4-1.
After pulling out of his IPL deal, Duckett confirmed that he would like to “play some four-day cricket for Notts, and try to find that form I had last summer.”
He added: “I could have gone to the IPL, spent time on the sidelines, then rushed back into the Test summer. I wouldn’t have time to process the winter, learn from mistakes, and go back to the drawing board with Notts.”
Will Ben Duckett be banned from IPL?
Duckett was bought for INR 2 crore (£160,000 approx.) in the auction by Delhi Capitals; however, he withdrew from the IPL 2026 to focus on his England career. According to the new BCCI rules, any non-injury withdrawal from a player ahead of the tournament will result in a two-year suspension from the IPL.
Meanwhile, DC have named one of Duckett’s compatriot as his replacement.
IPL 2026: Who Has Replaced Ben Duckett In Delhi Capitals’ Squad?
Delhi have picked England leg-spinner all-rounder Rehan Ahmed as a replacement for Duckett for IPL 2026. Rehan will join DC at his auction base price of INR 75 lakh. This will be the first time that Rehan will be part of an IPL squad.
Picking Rehan as a replacement for an opener is a bit of a surprising move by the Hemang Badani-led Delhi coaching staff, as DC already have four Indian spinners in their ranks: Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Viprag Nigam, and the uncapped off-spinner Tripurana Vijay.
Rehan had an impressive stint at the T20 World Cup recently in India and Sri Lanka, where he made contributions with both bat and ball. The 21-year-old began as a leg-spinner but has now moved up in the batting order and is categorized as a proper all-rounder in T20 cricket.
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