Stokes free to cash in at IPL
BEN STOKES will be allowed to cash in on Indian Premier League riches even though he is still waiting to hear whether he will be charged with assault.
The ECB are prepared to let the England star, drafted for £1.7million last year, enter next month’s auction.
BEN STOKES will be given the green light to cash in on Indian Premier League riches even while he still has the threat of criminal charges hanging over him.
The ECB are prepared to allow Stokes to enter next month’s auction for the richest T20 league in the world as he awaits the Crown Prosecution Service verdict on whether he will be charged with assault.
On the day it was announced that Stokes, who was suspended by England for his part in a Bristol brawl t hat l ef t a man with a fractured eye socket, was cutting short his stay in New Zealand for family reasons, t he ECB were approving his next venture.
‘It’s for Ben to decide,’ said ECB chief Tom Harrison when asked if Stokes would be allowed to play in the IPL. ‘We could say he can’t go but having allowed him to play in New Zealand it would be difficult for us to say, on balance, that we would not apply the same thinking to playing in
other parts of the world. We would want board backing for a decision of this magnitude and we will have to work out the implications in terms of reputation. ‘Any application from Ben for a no-objection certificate to play will be considered by the full board.’ Stokes (left), who is centrally contracted to England, was allowed to play in Christchurch despite being banned by England following his criminal investigation. He will not play on the Ashes tour until England know about any court action even though he was provisionally named in their squad for the one-day series next month.
Last year Stokes became the highest overseas earner in IPL history when he was drafted by the Rising Pune Supergiants for £1.7million for six weeks’ work.
Harrison also intimated that Stokes will be able to play for Durham next summer even if the CPS is yet to make a decision.
And he insisted there will be no ‘knee-jerk’ decisions on the futures of coach Trevor Bayliss, management and selectors even though the Ashes have gone after three Tests.
The ECB full board will decide whether Stokes can play for England again when he is either cleared or charged, then a disciplinary committee will decide on the extent of his cricketing punishment after the criminal processes are complete.
Harrison added: ‘We are waiting for the police to come back with a decision so it’s a holding position at the moment. There’s nothing in the rules to say he couldn’t play if he is charged while he awaits trial but there’s a reputational element for the board to take into account.’