Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have released a statement on November 23 confirming that Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for selection for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). While the release did not mention whether he will be released ahead of the IPL mini-auction or not, the Chennai-based franchise said they supported his decision to pull out of the tournament to manage his workload ahead of the five-Test series in India next year.
“England Test captain, all-rounder Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness,” CSK said in a statement.
“The Chennai Super Kings management is supportive of Ben in his decision to manage his workload with England playing a 5-Test series in India before the IPL and then the T20 World Cup in June 2024,” the statement further stated.
Stokes has struggled with a knee injury which prevented him from bowling in ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. The 32-year-old is expected to go under the knife as he will be targetting to regain full fitness before the Test series in India before IPL 2024.
Earlier this year, Stokes came out of retirement in the ODI format to participate in the World Cup 2023. However, he missed out on a few initial matches due to injury. He could not find form while England were struggling to make a comeback. He did manage to score his maiden World Cup century but it was too late.
England's Test captain was a part of the squad throughout their IPL 2023 campaign. However, he missed a few games due to injury. He managed to play just two games and scored 15 runs.
England’s ODI and T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder was picked for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore in the previous auction. CSK engaged in a bidding war with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to acquire his services.
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