England Test captain Ben Stokes is all set to don the Chennai Super Kings jersey in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The World Cup-winning all-rounder became the third-most expensive player in the history of IPL after he was roped in by the Chennai-based franchise for Rs 16.25 crore.
Stokes shares the third spot in the elite list of players along with South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris. Moments after Ben Stokes became a part of the four-time IPL winners’ squad, the 31-year-old shared a yellow background image on social media.
The official Twitter handle of the Chennai Super Kings franchise also reacted to the post by writing, “Yellove All,” in the comments.
Stokes entered the IPL mini auction with a base price of Rs 2 crore. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals were involved in the early battle to sign Stokes. Lucknow Super Giants entered the bidding at Rs 7 crore. Chennai appeared late in the scene but they eventually succeeded in signing the high-profile English all-rounder.
In T20I cricket, Stokes had a phenomenal time in 2022. He produced a sensational unbeaten knock of 52 against Pakistan in the finals of the T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Stokes guided England to their second T20 World Cup title after showcasing a brilliant all-round performance in the summit clash.
Stokes was last seen in IPL back in April 2021 during a match against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He was previously a part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise. However, Rajasthan decided to release Stokes ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The New Zealand-born cricketer later decided to not take part in the mega IPL auction. The all-rounder has so far played 43 matches in IPL and he has 920 runs and 28 wickets to his name in the competition.
In the last IPL season, Chennai had to endure a poor outing. Chennai failed to qualify for the knockouts last time after finishing the league stage at the ninth spot with just eight points in their kitty.
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