Former Indian opener and cricket expert Akash Chopra slammed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as he brushed off the buzz surrounding English all-rounder Ben Stokes, suggesting that the five-time champions went a bit overboard in acquiring him at the last year’s IPL auction. It must be mentioned that CSK shelled out INR 16.25 Crore to rope in Ben Stokes during the IPL 2023 auction. However, the senior all-rounder failed to deliver, managing just a couple of games without making a notable impact with either bat or ball.
‘It was not going to happen’: Chopra on Stokes
“Ben Stokes has said that he won’t play in the IPL. Were Chennai going to retain him? That’s a big question. In my opinion, they weren’t going to do so. Would any other team have bought him for 16.25 crores? My two cents – it was not going to happen,” said Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“So he did the right thing. I don’t know if it’s strategic or anything. Why should we comment on it? The truth is that 16.25 crore rupees are suddenly freed there. Ambati Rayudu has retired. So you have 20 crore rupees and you will get five crores in any case when the purse is increased,” added Aakash Chopra.
CSK squad for IPL 2024: MS Dhoni (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Ajay Mandal.
Editors pick
