Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), will not have all-rounder Ben Stokes in their team for the 2024 season. This absence could affect their performance in the upcoming campaign.
Ben Stokes is scheduled to have knee surgery in the near future. The cricket player has a busy first half of 2024 ahead with a challenging five-match Test series in India and the T20 World Cup.
Ben Stokes became CSK’s biggest signing after a hefty 16.25 crore offer at the IPL 2023 mini-auction.
The all-rounder was last seen in play for England at the 2023 ODI World Cup, after reversing his ODI campaign. While England came well short of retaining their crown, Ben Stokes had a strong individual season. He concluded the season with 304 runs in six matches, one of just two players (together with Dawid Malan) to score over 300 runs.
“England Test captain, all-rounder Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness. Stokes, 32, became a part of the Super Kings ahead of the successful IPL 2023. He recently participated in the ODI World Cup 2023, which he came out of retirement for. The Chennai Super Kings management is supportive of Ben in his decision to manage his workload with England playing a 5-Test series in India before the IPL and then the T20 World Cup in June 2024,” CSK’s statement read
It remains to be seen whether or not CSK will release Ben Stokes from their roster. The franchises have until November 26th to provide a list of their retained and released players.
If the reigning champions decide to release the Englishman, a sum of Rs. 16.25 crore would be increased to their budget for the IPL 2024 mini-auction, which will take held in Dubai on December 19.
Ben Stokes only played two matches in IPL 2023 season
While everyone was aware of Ben Stokes’ incapacity to play as a full-fledged all-rounder, the majority anticipated him to bat in the IPL 2023. However, he only played two matches for his new team, scoring 15 runs and bowling one over in the entire season.
Following the conclusion of the IPL season, he went on to play the Ashes. Due to the reversal of his ODI retirement, he was also part in the home series against New Zealand.
Several analysts predicted that Stokes will succeed MS Dhoni as captain of the club. However, the all-rounder’s tenure with the five-time winners has not been great, and his future seems dismal.
Ben Stokes had also recused himself from the 2022 season and did not participate in the mega-auction that year. Furthermore, he had only played one match in the 2021 edition due to a finger injury that forced him to miss the rest of the tournament for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).