Stokes may play full IPL season
London, Feb. 21: England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who became the highest paid overseas player in the Indian Premier League auction, is excited about sharing the dressing room with Steven Smith and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his maiden stint at the cash-rich event.
England players landed lucrative deals at the auction yesterday with Stokes bagging the biggest of them all after being bought for `14.5 crore by Rising Pune Supergiants. “I am really looking forward to playing with MS Dhoni and Steven Smith. It will be great to share the dressing room with both these players. Dhoni is one of the biggest players in the world and Smith too is one of the best. While I have had some heated moments against Smith, looking forward to play alongside him. He is an amazing player,” Stokes said.
The all-rounder had a good last year and was impressive during the recent series in India even though England lost the Test, ODI and T20
series.
Pune is the home ground for Supergiants and Stokes is looking forward to play there.
“Pune is one of my favourite grounds. I had a great time during the ODI series against India and I am looking forward to coming back at this venue.” Stokes also made it clear that he will be available for most of the IPL. “I might miss only the last group game. I will play most of it. I will probably play the full season. I am looking forward to playing plenty of T20 cricket, something we don’t get to do as England players,” he said.
Another English cricketer who was bought for a whopping amount was T20 specialist Tymal Mills with Royal Challengers Bangalore paying as much as `12 crore.
Also seen in action will be England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan, who was snapped by Kings XI Punjab for `2 crore.
Stokes hoped more English players would play IPL in the future.
“Both Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler have had nothing but high praise for the tournament. Hopefully, you will see more England players in the future in this tournament.”