Ben Stokes was signed by CSK for Rs. 16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday.
Stokes attracted interest from multiple teams after the all-rounder played a crucial role in England’s T20 World Cup winning campaign earlier this year. Stokes is now the most expensive player ever for CSK, surpassing Deepak Chahar.
England allrounder Stokes entered at Rs 2 crore. RCB competed with RR before LSG entered the bid at Rs 7 crore. SRH too entered the fray shortly after followed by CSK. The MS Dhoni-led team eventually landed Stokes for Rs 16.25 crore, third joint-highest price tag ever in the IPL.
Stokes also becomes a captaincy candidate as Super Kings explore leadership options for post-Dhoni era.
Stokes made an unbeaten 52 to guide the Three Lions to victory in the final against Pakistan at the MCG. The right-arm medium pacer also picked six wickets with an economy of 6.79 in the tournament.
The new season will mark Stokes’s return to the IPL. Stokes was released by Rajasthan Royals before the 2022 mega auction. He eventually opted out of the season.
Apart from the Royals, Stokes has represented the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, which bought him for Rs 14.5 crore in 2017.
The England international has played 43 games in the IPL, scoring 920 runs at a strike rate of 134.50. He has picked 28 wickets at an economy of 8.56. He also has an unbeaten IPL century to his name, which he scored for Supergiant against Gujarat Lions in 2017.
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