England opener Ben Duckett had a miserable winter. His most memorable contribution to the Ashes tour was not his 202 runs (with a top score of 42) but footage of his drunken walkabout in Noosa. England picked him for the World T20 squad, but he never made the XI. 

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In March, Duckett announced he was withdrawing from the IPL, forgoing his £160,000 contract with Delhi Capitals, to focus on playing first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire. Turning down IPL money has become a theatrical way for players to remind the England selectors that they remain committed to Test cricket. It is also an expensive gesture. Pulling out of the IPL after the auction carries a two-year ban from the competition. 

The simultaneous start of the county championship season and the 2026 edition of IPL suggests that Duckett and his teammates will be the last generation to face such a choice. Such is the speed at which the IPL is evolving, it will become all but impossible for players of any sort to thrive in both first-class and T20 cricket.

As the younger, disruptive sibling, it makes sense that it is T20 that........

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