Kumar Sangakkara reveals why Ben Stokes will not bowl much for RR in upcoming IPL 2021

Former Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman and the current Rajasthan Royals  Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has said that Ben Stokes will not be bowling much in the upcoming IPL 2021 in order to avoid burnout.

Stokes is one of the key players who has been retained by the Rajasthan franchise for the 14th edition of the cash-rich tournament.

'He can deliver but...': Kumar Sangakkara

"I think for us the focus on Dube is for his batting and if there is an opportunity for him to bowl it will be very rare or very few overs. Stokes is off course capable with the ball but his role at the top of the order is extremely crucial and his ability with the bat," said Sangakkara while replying to a query from ANI.

"In terms of his overs, we don't want to burn him (Stokes) too much with the ball and use him tactically. In areas where he can make a difference for us. So in terms of Stokes coming in and bowling, we have no doubt that he can deliver but we don't want him to burn him all the time," he added.

Ben Stokes in Dream11 IPL 2020

Stokes had joined Rajasthan in the second half of the season since he was with his ailing father in New Zealand. Ben, who is a middle-order batsman was made to open the innings in the previous edition where he did manage to impress one and all to a certain extent.

In the eight matches that he got to feature in, the New Zealand-born cricketer scored 285 runs at an average of 40.71 and a strike-rate of 142.50 that included a century and a half-century each. However, England's hero of the 2019 World Cup final did not achieve success with the ball in hand as he could only manage two scalps by conceding 154 runs.

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RR in IPL 2021 Auctions

The 2008 winners have decided to make a few changes to their side for the upcoming IPL 2021. Last month, they released their former skipper Steve Smith after the team had a forgettable outing in the previous edition where they ended up bagging the wooden spoon. 

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Kerala wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson has been appointed as Smith's successor. At the same time, Rajasthan also parted ways with veteran batsman Robin Uthappa who has now been roped in by the three-time winners Chennai Super Kings. 

South African all-rounder Chris Morris became the highest bid in this year's auctions after he was roped in by RR for a record INR 16.25 crore. Bangladesh's pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman was bought at his base price of 1 crore. The 'Fizz' will be expected to work in tandem with frontline speedster Jofra Archer this season.

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