Ben Stokes shares cryptic message on Twitter post signing by Chennai in Indian T20 League player auction 2023
Ben Stokes (Image Credit: Twitter)
England Test skipper Ben Stokes has been signed by Chennai for a whopping amount of 16.25 crores. He entered the ongoing Indian T20 League player auction with a base price of two crores. The first bid was put in by his former team Rajasthan. They were joined by Bangalore on the other side. These two teams took the bidding to 6.75 with an intense bidding war.
At this point, Lucknow entered the bid but could only take the bid to seven crores. Now, Hyderabad entered the war and competed with Lucknow. Both teams were desperate to have the services of the two-time World Cup winner. They took the bidding war to 15.25 crores. After all, the 2016 winners were looking for a skipper as they have let go of Kane Williamson.
However, the Orange Army was flummoxed to see Chennai entering the bidding. Now, Lucknow and the four-time winners were bidding for the New Zealand-born player. However, the Yellow brigade managed to nab Stokes at such a higher price. After the development, the Durham player posted a Yellow card on Twitter.
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) December 23, 2022
Ben Stokes has played for Sanjiv Goenka’s now-defunct Pune side
Notably, the 31-year-old played for Lucknow franchise owner, Sanjiv Goenka’s now-defunct, Pune side in 2017. The now-defunct team played in the league in the seasons, of 2016 and 2017. Five years ago, the former England U19 played for Pune and helped the team reach the final. They lost to Mumbai in the title clash.
That year, he was the most expensive with more than 14 crores spent on him. The next year, he bagged almost that much money as he was signed by Rajasthan. Stokes played for the team till the 2021 season. Last year, he pulled out of the league ahead of the player auction. This time around, Ben was available and has been nabbed by Chennai. This could be a long-term move as MS Dhoni is set to retire after the 2023 season. Stokes might take over from Dhoni as captain.
