Indian T20 League 2023: Chennai CEO answers on being asked if MS Dhoni sent message about buying Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes has joined MS Dhoni-led Chennai for INR 16.25 crore at the mini-auction.
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Dec 23, 2022 8:06 pm
MS Dhoni and Ben Stokes (Source – Twitter)
Chennai fans could not keep calm after the franchise secured the services of Ben Stokes, arguably one of the best all-rounders in the world right now on Friday, December 23. As the bidding war between Hyderabad and Lucknow was getting intense for Stokes, the MS Dhoni-led team entered late to acquire the services of England’s 20-20 World Cup champion.
Many fans were speculating that it was captain MS Dhoni‘s advice to buy the England all-rounder. Chennai-based franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan was asked whether Dhoni asked the officials of the franchise to bid for Stokes and he cleared the air on that speculation.
Viswanathan said that there was no message from MSD for Stokes and the franchise had come into the auction aiming for a big-name all-rounder and they were happy to take Ben Stokes for Rs. 16.25 crore. Chennai couldn’t afford their former allrounder, Sam Curran, as he was picked by Punjab for 18.50 crore, making him the costliest player in the history of the Indian T20 League.
Will Ben Stokes bring any aggression to Chennai?
This is the biggest amount ever for Ben Stokes in the major league. Earlier in the year 2017, Pune bought him for 14.5 crores. At one point, he was the most expensive player in the league’s history. In the 2018 auction, Rajasthan bought Stokes for Rs 12.5 crore and included him in their team. He was a part of Rajasthan from the year 2018.
He could not play last season due to mental health issues and injury. After this, the Rajasthan-based franchise released him before the 2023 mini-auction. Now, Chennai has bought Ben Stokes and fulfilled the vacant place of a star all-rounder as Dwayne Bravo has taken retirement from all forms of cricket.
England’s star all-rounder Sam Curran has been roped in by Punjab for a whopping 18.50 crore in the Indian T20 League 2023. Curran missed the last season of the league due to injury, but this season, he is expected to make a comeback.
