England all-rounder Moeen Ali sees compatriot Ben Stokes as a really perfect candidate to fill within the large sneakers of Dhoni as soon as he makes a decision to name it quits.
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“He is really enjoying himself. CSK is the type of franchise where you come here and you do tend to enjoy yourself and really love playing for this franchise. He has settled in really well. He is a big part of the team with his experience said Ali as quoted by ESPNCricinfo on Friday.
CSK broke the bank to buy Stokes for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore in the IPL 2023 auction last year in December. But the England Test skipper has been far from impressive in two games so far, having scored 15 runs in two games and having bowled only one over.
England’s Test team has transformed under Stokes’ leadership within nearly a year, winning 10 out of 12 matches under him. Moeen opines that Stokes’ success with England makes him an easy choice to succeed Dhoni as a skipper, but feels that the change might not be imminent.
Questioned if Stokes was a part of the team’s leadership group, Moeen said that there is no such thing as a leadership group in the team.
“You have the captain and the coaches, they usually communicate. If Dhoni desires Ben Stokes’ recommendation or a talk with him, this is a very open atmosphere in that converting room,” said Moeen.
Moeen also opines that Ruturaj Gaikwad, currently leading the race to Orange Cap in IPL 2023 with two half-centuries and 149 runs in two matches, is a potential CSK skipper for the future.
“I believe there is a probability [that Stokes succeeds Dhoni], after all there’s a probability, as a result of he has clearly executed truly neatly in take a look at cricket. But MS remains to be clearly in rate and he’s going to be captain for some time. We have any other guys as neatly: Ruturaj is an incredible participant with a excellent head on his shoulders, so it depends upon what the franchise desires,” said Moeen.
Stokes has been managing a knee injury for a considerable period of time and had taken cortisone injections before traveling to India for the IPL. He was expected to start off the tournament as a batter, but was fit enough to bowl during the second match against Lucknow Super Giants. He gave away 18 runs in his first over and was not called again.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Stokes insisted that his “major precedence” was ensuring he would be able to “satisfy my function as fourth seamer” in the Ashes series in June later this year.
“Great layout to come back again into bowling once more is not it, T20?” Stokes joked. “I mentioned on the finish of [the] Wellington [Test]It’s been an overly irritating 12 months – that is how lengthy it is been, bowling with this knee downside. Not with the ability to satisfy my function correctly as fourth seamer has been irritating.”
Stephen Fleming, Chennai’s head coach, said that the franchise would only utilize Stokes as a bowler when he was “100% in a position to head”. Even Stokes confirmed that he had been able to bowl “pain-free” in against LSG, after “a large number of laborious paintings” leading up to the tournament.
Stokes has bowled 174.3 overs in 12 Tests as skipper for England, but had bowled only nine in the recent series of two matches against New Zealand. He hopes to contribute fully as a bowler ahead of the Ashes series against Australia at home.
“I’ve labored so laborious over the past month, 5 weeks, to get to the place I’m now. Being in a position to bowl pain-free, contact wooden, has been excellent. Even [on Monday] evening, I went for 18 runs however I used to be like, ‘I controlled to bowl an over with none ache in my knee,’ mentioned Stokes.
“That is down to a lot of hard work that I have done away with [the game] medically, in the gym, and obviously I have had a bit of help with some cortisone injections, but everything is going nicely. I will just take it step by step and not look to rush myself too much, because obviously the main priority for me is making sure I can fulfill my role as fourth seamer in the Ashes,” concluded Stokes.
Four-time champions CSK will tackle five-time champions Mumbai Indians on the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.
(With ANI inputs)