IPL 2023: Netizens rejoice as Ben Stokes leaves from England to join CSK, shares post

England Test captain Ben Stokes took to his official Instagram handle on Thursday and informed he has departed for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The 31-year-old shared a picture of him inside a car with his bag and cap. Posting the picture, Stokes tagged Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in it and said, “See you soon”.

Stokes was the third most expensive player to be sold in the IPL 2023 Auction after Sam Curran and Cameron Green. While Curran fetched the biggest bid of INR 18.50 crore from Punjab Kings (PBKS), Green was roped in by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI). On the other hand, Stokes was roped in by the MS Dhoni-led CSK for a whopping INR 16.25 crores.

Meanwhile, CSK kicked off their preparations for the IPL 2023 earlier this month as they play the season opener against defending champions Gujarat Titans on March 31. Indian cricket fans will be much elated to see 41-year-old Dhoni in action against the much-exciting Hardik Pandya. While CSK won the title under Dhoni a total of four times in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021, Pandya led GT to their maiden IPL title, during their debut IPL season in 2022.

Fans react to Ben Stokes' post about leaving for Chennai

Coming back to CSK’s squad for IPL 2023, apart from Stokes, the Chennai-based franchise also roped in Ajinkya Rahane, alongside other notable additions. However, Stokes seems to be the most anticipated addition as he certainly brings an x-factor into the team. Having played a total of 43 games so far in his IPL career, Stokes has scored 920 runs and has registered 28 wickets.

He made his last IPL appearance during the 2021 season, which was the only match he played that year. Check out how fans reacted to Ben Stokes' post about leaving for India. Having said that, here’s a look at CSK’s full squad for the IPL 2023.

CSK Team 2023: Full squad for IPL 2023

MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Ajinkya Rahane, Ben Stokes, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma, Sisanda Magala