England opener Ben Duckett returned to form after scoring an unbeaten double hundred for Nottinghamshire against Surrey at Trent Bridge in the Rothesay County Championship on Monday, May 11.
Coming in to bat at number three, Duckett went on to score 203 not out from 311 balls in the second innings following a knock of 42 in the first.
Duckett was picked up by the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the mini auction for his base price of INR 2 crore. The left-handed batter, however, pulled out of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the eleventh hour with the intention to represent Nottinghamshire in the County Championship and regain some form ahead of the home Test summer after a poor run in the Ashes in Australia.
The 31-year-old proved that he made the right decision by staying in the country and playing domestic red-ball cricket instead of the IPL. The England international is currently the fourth-highest run-getter in Division One of the County Championship, scoring 503 runs at an average of 83.83, whilst striking at 70.34.
Duckett stated how the decision he made earlier this year (referring to snubbing the IPL) was for the betterment of his international career and how his game has since improved.
“I’ve made a decision to be here for my personal career, I love playing in this dressing room. That decision I made last month, everything is going in the right direction, and my game is good order and hopefully I can take this confidence going forward this summer,” Ben Ducket was quoted as saying on Sky Sports.
Duckett made the difficult decision to reject the DC deal following an Ashes series, which saw him score 202 runs across five Test matches with no half-centuries to his name. As his replacement, the Capitals signed the left-hander’s compatriot, Rehan Ahmed. The spin-bowling all-rounder, however, is yet to make his IPL debut this season.
IPL 2026: DC sign Rehan Ahmed as Duckett’s replacement
England are expected to make some drastic changes to their Test side following the Ashes debacle, which saw them lose to their arch-rivals 4-1. However, Duckett’s place in the side looks to be secured for now, with his opening partner Zak Crawley expected to be dropped after a run of poor results.
