Ben Stokes reacts after CSK shell out ₹16.25 crore to sign him at IPL 2023 mini-auction
England's talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes was unsurprisingly in great demand at the Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23.
Franchises including Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were involved in an intense bidding war for Stokes. However, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made a late entry and were ultimately able to sign the player for a whopping ₹16.25 crore.
The English Test captain took to his Twitter account to react to his signing. The 31-year-old shared an image of the Chennai-based team's theme color yellow. Stokes posted:
https://t.co/aa7XDgnvHO
Signed & Sealed! 🤝
#SuperAuction #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 https://t.co/gnrcXNURil
Notably, Ben Stokes first entered the IPL auction in 2017. He was picked up by the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPSG) for ₹14.5 crore. In the following year, the swashbuckler's services were acquired by RR for ₹12.5 crore.
A look at Ben Stokes' IPL stats
Ben Stokes made a significant impact with the bat for RPSG in his maiden IPL season. The southpaw mustered 316 runs in 12 games at an average of 31.60 and a strike rate of 142.98. Notably, he also slammed a fantastic century in the edition.
After three underwhelming seasons, Stokes roared back to form in 2020. Playing for RR, the left-handed batter scored his second IPL ton and finished with 285 runs from just eight outings at an average of 40.71 and a strike rate of 142.50.
He featured in just one match for RR in the 2021 season. Stokes sustained a broken finger while taking a catch to dismiss Chris Gayle in one of the league matches and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.
It is worth mentioning that Stokes was not a part of the IPL 2022 mega auction after he was not retained by the Royals. He had opted out of the event to focus on Test cricket. In 43 IPL matches, the Englishman has 920 runs and 28 wickets to his name.