Ben Stokes IPL 2022: The English all-rounder played just a single match for Rajasthan Royals during the previous edition of the IPL.
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During the 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year, the flamboyant England all-rounder Ben Stokes played a solitary opening game for his then franchise Rajasthan Royals as he was ruled out after sustaining a fractured finger injury.
Despite the league getting postponed owing the COVID-19 pandemic, Stokes decided to skip the second leg of the season courtesy of his decision to take a mental health break.
Cometh the IPL 2022 mega auction, post a disastrous Ashes 2021-22 in Australia where England lost 0-4, the southpaw decided not to get himself registered in the players list, thereby marking his unavailability from the entirety of the upcoming season.
Ben Stokes IPL 2022
With England’s Test skipper Joe Root deciding to not put his name up for grabs at the mega auction table, Stokes too, with his captain’s bid to prioritize Test Cricket, decided to mark his unavailability for the two-day event.
The Ashes drubbing had made way for quite some ire and disappointment for England fans and Cricket experts, with quite a few of them even blaming the franchise T20 leagues like the IPL as the reason for the team’s downfall in the Test format.
With England set to play Test series against New Zealand starting June 2, followed by one against South Africa, Stokes decided not to partake in IPL 2022 and play the County Championship instead.
“It is why I thought long and hard about whether to go to the IPL or not, and felt that this was not about the money but about where my priorities are. It wouldn’t be fair on any team I signed up for if I wasn’t totally focused on things out there,” remarked Stokes.
I think the Test side will benefit more from me playing a number of County Championship matches this summer and getting myself as best prepared as possible for the challenges of New Zealand and South Africa,” he further added.
The 30-year-old first played in the IPL in 2017 for the now defunct Rising Pune SuperGiants and impressed one and all right away. He scored 316 runs and even scalped 12 wickets to emerge as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season.
He then played for the Rajasthan Royals until the league’s 14th season, post which he was decided not to be retained by the franchise ahead of the mega auction.
Apart from Stokes, Tom Curran, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, and Chris Woakes were some other prominent England cricketers to mark their unavailability for IPL 2022.
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