England all-rounder Ben Stokes found a new home in CSK after the MS Dhoni-led franchise splashed a shattering 16.25 crore to secure his services.
The 4-time IPL champions went after Stokes despite knowing he might be subpar at the Chepauk pitch. It is believed that the franchise is looking at Stokes as the successor to MSD once the long-standing CSK captain hangs his boots.
Notably, Stokes has been the talk of the town for his brave leadership in Test Cricket– one that has transformed a meek England outfit to an ultra-aggressive, BazBall-capable eleven.
Chennai CEO shares MS Dhoni’s reaction to buying Ben Stokes
Meanwhile, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanath has shared to ESPN Cricinfo that MS Dhoni is happy to see Ben Stokes coming to CSK and the call around captaincy is in the veteran’s hand.
He also feels Ben Stokes going under the hammer after franchises had already exhausted their funds on the likes of Sam Curran, Cameron Green, Harry Brook, etcetera helped CSK acquire him with ease.
“Excited to get Stokes and we were lucky also, because he came up at the end. We wanted an allrounder and MS Dhoni was very happy we got Ben Stokes. Captaincy option is there but it’s a call MS will take with time”.
Kasi also shed light on Chennai’s bid for injury-struck NZ all-rounder Kyle Jamieson, saying his compatriot and CSK coach Stephen Fleming knew Jamieson was recovering well and should be available before the season starts.
Chennai Super Kings have never really shelled big cash at the auction table before and Ben Stokes (16.25 CR) is their most expensive buy in the history of the IPL auction.
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The captaincy reigns were handed to Ravindra Jadeja for the first half of IPL 2022 but the side languished at the bottom of the table under the Indian allrounder and 41-year-old MS had to take the charge back into his own hands.
Ben Stokes being an experienced international captain might be the one to whom MS Dhoni passes the torch after he retires from the Indian Premier League.