IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings ‘Will Look After’ Ben Stokes, Says Brendon McCullum

England Test captain Ben Stokes will turn out for MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023 after being bought for Rs 16.25 crore in the auction last year.

Source: Twitter

England coach Brendon McCullum had a long association with the Chennai Super Kings. McCullum played in a couple of season with MS Dhoni’s CSK in 2014 and 2015 and scored his second IPL ton in the 2015 season.

Now his ward and England Test captain Ben Stokes will be part of the CSK in the upcoming IPL 2023 season. Stokes’s left knee requires constant management but he will have to turn up for CSK in this year's IPL to fulfill his whopping Rs 16.25 crore (USD 2 million) contract.

The IPL 2023 will be held from March 31 to May 28, while England’s first Test of the summer against Ireland at Lord’s begins on June 1. “I don’t think he’s jeopardising it. The Chennai set-up is excellent in looking after their players and they’ve a very good medical team and he will be well looked after,” McCullum was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo website.

“The skipper has a strong mind and he knows how to get right for the big moments. His life is that, right? So I don’t have any concerns.”

"I will be available for IPL 2023" - BEN STOKES _#WhistlePodu #BenStokes @benstokes38
_ @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/2nVhYyhvBF

— WhistlePodu Army _ - CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) February 28, 2023

Stokes was only able to bowl two overs in the Test against New Zealand and he also struggled to bat with freedom as England lost the match by just one run. “In fact, I look forward to watching him play in it and see, without captaincy as well, the opportunity to play cricket without worrying about everybody else, knowing when he comes back into the fold and leads us into the Ashes campaign he’ll have the bit between his teeth and I think we'll be alright.

“He sees the big picture in everything, so I’ve no concerns that the skipper will be totally looked after. And I also believe that the Ashes is the script that the skipper is waiting to write, so he'll be sweet.”

Stokes has played in 43 IPL matches in his career, scoring 920 runs at a strike-rate of 134.5 with two hundreds and two fifties. The England all-rounder also has 28 IPL wickets in those matches.

He had played with Dhoni in the Rising Pune Supergiant team in IPL 2016 when CSK were banned from the T20 league for spot-fixing.