Smith, Fleming part of decision to buy Stokes

Rising Pune Supergiants owner Sanjiv Goenka called Ben Stokes a complete player and revealed that the England Test vice-captain was the side's first preference at the IPL Auction.

Published : Feb 20, 2017 10:24 IST

Ben Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs. 14.5 crore.
Ben Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs. 14.5 crore.
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Ben Stokes was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs. 14.5 crore.

Rising Pune Supergiants owner Sanjiv Goenka called Ben Stokes a complete player and revealed that the England Test vice-captain was the side's first preference at the IPL Auction.

Stokes was bought by RPS for Rs. 14.5 crore, beating off competition from Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Pune.

"He's a complete player. He completes our squad... We've been lacking this one genre of player. We have many heroes but this is the one hero we were lacking. It was a conscious strartgey. We knew it was going to be expensive.

"We knew he was going to be there for the first 14 games. And we're happy to have him for the first 14. We knew we were not going to get him for less We are reinforcing our core, our playing eleven."

On the call to buy Stokes, Goenka said that it was a collective decision.

"Steve Smith, Stephen Fleming... everyone's been a part of the decision to buy Stokes. It's been a collective, collaborative decision. Ben Stokes was our No. 1, 2, and 3 preference."

Status quo

Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO, said that the BCCI management is focused on cricket and delivering a great season of IPL.

Speaking on Pakistan players, Johri said: "We depend on the guidance of the Government of India and at this point of time, it is status quo."

Rajiv Shukla said: "The IPL will be a huge success. Don't have any doubt, any ambiguity."

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