Ben Stokes is in which IPL team?
England Test captain Ben Stokes made his return to the IPL Auction this year after missing the 2022 season. Stokes is in the Chennai Super Kings team for IPL 2023.
The England all-rounder represented Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in his debut season back in 2017. He won the Most Valuable Player award and guided RPS to their maiden IPL final.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) signed Stokes next, but the all-rounder could not impress much in the RR jersey. He played well in a few matches. However, the 31-year-old was not as consistent as the RR management would have expected him to be.
RR persisted with him until the 2021 season. The all-rounder opted out of IPL 2022 before making a return at the IPL 2023 Auction. Although his recent IPL performances were not up to the mark, franchises ran after the England player at the mini auction.
He listed his base price as ₹2 crore for the IPL 2023 Auction. Ben Stokes' former team Rajasthan Royals opened the bidding for him. Soon, Royal Challengers Bangalore entered a bidding war with Rajasthan as the price shot up to ₹6.75 crore in no time.
How much money did Chennai Super Kings spend to sign Ben Stokes at IPL 2023 Auction?
Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled out of the bidding war after the Rajasthan Royals submitted a bid of ₹6.75 crore. SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) then joined the race. RR opted out after the bid touched ₹7.5 crore.
SRH and LSG took the price to ₹14 crore, and it seemed like Lucknow would secure Stokes' services with a ₹14.75 crore. Four-time champions Chennai Super Kings made a late entry into the bidding war with a ₹15 crore.
In the end, the Chennai Super Kings signed Ben Stokes for a massive ₹16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 Auction, making the Englishman the franchise's most expensive player so far.