In what comes as a major blow to the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the franchise's superstar overseas signing Ben Stokes will start the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a specialist batter. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the England Test captain will not be used as a bowler by the Chennai-based franchise to begin the cash-rich tournament "in order to manage an injury to his left knee".
Stokes is probably the best all-rounder in the world right now and his three-dimensional play has been instrumental in the Three Lions' success in white-ball as well as red-ball cricket. Chennai forked out a monumental sum of Rs 16.25 crore in the auction to acquire Stokes' services for IPL 2023. With Stokes only playing as a pure batter, Chennai's overall balance of the squad will suffer immensely.
"My understanding is he's ready to go as a batsman from the start," ESPNCricinfo quoted CSK's batting coach Michael Hussey as saying.
"The bowling might (have to) be wait and see. I know he had his first very light bowl yesterday (March 26) since he had his injections in his knee.
"The physios from Chennai and the ECB are working pretty closely together. My understanding is he won't be bowling much at all in the first few games of the tournament… it might be a few weeks. I'm not 100% sure, (but we will) hopefully get him bowling at some stage in the tournament," he added.
Stokes has been troubled by a recurring injury to his left knee for a few years and with the high-profile Ashes series scheduled to start after the conclusion of the cash-rich tournament, both Stokes and the England Cricket Board (ECB) are forced to take extra precautions.
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