Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bought England all-rounder Ben Stokes for Rs 16.25 crore at the mini auction this time. But he was only able to bat in the opening match of IPL 2023. Despite missing out on the fifth bowler, captain Dhoni did not hand the ball over to Stokes. This is because Stokes is not fully fit for bowling at the moment. After the match, when CSK coach Stephen Fleming was asked about this, he answered in detail.
Fleming said: ‘Stokes had enough time between the last Test match and then he came to India for IPL and during this his knee injury was treated. We want Ben to make the right decision about it and only bowl when he is 100% fit to bowl.
Fleming said: ‘He’s not at that level of (bowling) fitness at the moment. He now himself he doesn’t even have a good rhythm in bowling. We are working closely with him and he is making good progress. We are very satisfied with what he has done so far and I think he should also feel very positive about his efforts and progress. Fleming also said that when he starts bowling, it will be like an additional contribution to his team.
In the opening match of IPL 2023, Ben Stokes was able to score just 7 runs from 6 balls. At the moment he is not in a good rhythm, not even in hitting. He played a winning tackle for England in the final match of the 2022 T20 World Cup, but aside from that match, he couldn’t spread much color throughout the entire T20 World Cup.