Indian Premier League: MS Dhoni is the reason Chennai Super Kings are pushing hard for Ben Stokes
When Chennai Super Kings bid big for Ben Stokes in the IPL 2023 mini-auction and successfully signed him, a few eagle-eyed fans made two very obvious points on social media.
IPL: Ben Stokes may lead CSKThe first was that CSK had reunited the Rising Pune Supergiant (RSPG) trio, which played a crucial role in their run to the final in 2017.
That is because, alongside skipper Dhoni and all-rounder Stokes, Chennai Super Kings had also recruited Ajinkya Rahane to the side for his base price of Rs. 50 lakhs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Signed ✍️and Stamped💮<br>📍Destination: 6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣5️⃣ 🦁<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhistlePodu?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhistlePodu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperAuction?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperAuction</a> 🦁💛 <a href="https://t.co/0jlafz9v1n">pic.twitter.com/0jlafz9v1n</a></p>— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChennaiIPL/status/1606343899928178688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But the acquisition of Stokes – over the likes of Sam Curran and Cameron Green, both of whom have a similar profile to the Englishman but who would provide a more long-term investment – also led to chatter over him being a future captaincy candidate.
To be fair to CSK, they have tried as recently as 2022 to hand over the captaincy to another player. Before the 2022 IPL, Ravindra Jadeja had been appointed the skipper, thus becoming the second full-time skipper in the franchise's history.
But his time at the helm lasted only half a season, and he was replaced by Dhoni again as the team's form deteriorated severely.
And with Dhoni confirming he will be a part of the IPL for at least the 2023 season, there are no short-term plans to replace him as the captain this time.
But what about the long-term plans? Ben Stokes may have just answered that particular question with aplomb.
And it is easy to see why he fits the bill so well for CSK. He is an experienced international, and not just that – he is inarguably one of the most outstanding matchwinners this era of cricket has ever seen.
He has played a match-winning knock in both the 2019 ICC World Cup final and the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup final and is a leader in more ways than one.
Not only is he a player who forms part of the England cricket team's core group, but he is also the captain of the Test team.
Thus, he ticks off all the boxes as far as being a future leader for CSK is concerned. And, unlike Ravindra Jadeja, it seems unlikely that Stokes will wilt under the pressure of replacing Dhoni as a leader.
Knowing Stokes and how he operates, he would be keen to one-up the former India skipper and do better than him.
He is also a good bridge option to someone like Ruturaj Gaikwad, who many see as being a future CSK captain when the time is right.
However, that time was not 2022, and that is why Jadeja was seen as the bridge to the Gaikwad era – a role in which he failed through reasons sometimes beyond his control.
And that is why CSK turned to Stokes, a man with the experience and pressure of leading a top side and being victorious in the same.
That, in part, is why they spent so much money on the England all-rounder. One can only hope their hopes come true.