England captain Ben Stokes will be joining MS Dhoni once again after a long gap as Chennai Super Kings have bought him for Rs 16.25 crores at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini auction on Friday (December 23). Stokes had played under Dhoni at the Rising Pune Super Giants when CSK was banned from IPL for a couple of years.


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Former Australia white ball captain Aaron Finch was pleased with all-rounders Sam Curran and Ben Stokes getting big bucks at the mini auction. “Oh, absolutely, I think Chennai have a history of going after experienced players, knowing what they want. And when you compliment that with the rest of the squad, it’s so balanced when you throw that world class all-rounder in there,” Finch said on the Star Sports show ‘Cricket Live – Auction Special’.


“I think the only separation between Sam Curran, Ben Stokes and Cameron Green is Sam Curran’s ability to bowl in the last five overs. His record has been unbelievable. So, that probably gives him the nod if you’re going down the road of a bowling all-rounder. But Ben Stokes, he structures out any side tremendously well because he can bat in the top four, he can bat in the top six, and you can almost bank on him to bowl four overs as well. So, that’s a huge asset and I’m not surprised that all three of those guys have been paid what they have been paid there,” Finch added.



Speaking exclusively on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Live – Auction Special’, former Australia batter Simon Katich spoke on the all-rounders fetching the highest prices in the IPL 2023 auction and what valuable buys they will be for their respective teams, he said, “Yeah, no surprises for Sam Curran, he’s had a fantastic 2022 around the world. He obviously missed last year with his back injury but at 24 years of age, there’s a huge upside to him. He’s a competitor and obviously, he’s played for Punjab Kings before so I think he’s a good pick for them.


“Also, I like the fact that Mumbai picked up Cameron Green. I think he’s someone who’s going to be suited to the Wankhede with his bounce and can bowl with the new ball and then he can free up Archer and Bumrah to bowl in the middle and the back end. So, I think he brings a lot of balance in that team and they can bat him anywhere in the order, given that Kishan batted at 4 before. So, Cameron Green is a flexible player and he’s got a huge upside as well, so no surprise that the all-rounders there have fetched big bucks,” Katich said.