IPL franchises that can target Ben Stokes in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction or before.
IPL 2022 Mega Auction: The England all-rounder Ben Stokes had to miss a bit of cricket following his finger injury and his mental health break, however, the cricketer is back on the field as he is getting geared up for the all-important Ashes series 2021-22. The all-rounder sustained an unfortunate finger injury in the very first match of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2021 owing to which he was ruled out of the entire tournament.
However, Stokes will also be available for the upcoming fifteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He will be at the mega auction table as he has been released by Rajasthan Royals (RR) which is a pretty obvious choice.
The mega auction of the IPL 2022 will be fun for Ben Stokes as he is almost certain to get big bucks from the Indian franchises. His evolution as a cricketer is paying dividends to him and will continue to pay in the future as well.
His abilities with both bat and ball will attract several bidders and might cause a bidding war amongst them. Here in this article, we will take a look at IPL franchises that can target Ben Stokes in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction or before.
IPL franchises that can target Ben Stokes in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction or before:
Lucknow:
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The BCCI has expanded the Indian T20 league to a ten team’s affair by adding two new teams in the tournament. Lucknow has been recently added as one of the two new franchises. Both the new teams have the advantage to pick three players outside the player auctions which will form the core of the team.
The three price slabs of INR 15 Crores, INR 11 Crores and INR 7 Crores and the prices for the two new teams to get three players in.
Ben Stokes, being an all-rounder, provides versatility to the team. He can be extremely useful in both departments and can even turn matches with his lightning-fast fielding.
He has been a match-winner for the Royals and will continue to provide his valuable contributions to whichever team he goes to.
Ahmedabad:
The second new team that has been added is Ahmedabad. The CVC Capitals have owned the franchise after they placed the second-highest bid during the team auction in Dubai.
Ahmedabad will keep an eye on all-rounder Ben Stokes in the coming few days. He will play the Ashes 2021 which might help him fetch an IPL franchise contract before the mega auctions.
With several years of experience under his belt, Ben Stokes is a serious candidate to get a heavy price in the auction. He took his national team to the 2019 World Cup win. He even won the Headingly test match single-handedly against Australia.
All-rounder Ben Stokes is a complete package of every ingredient one need to be the best cricketer. He can bat at any position as per the requirement, he can bowl the toughest overs and can even trouble the batsman with his quick fielding reflexes.
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Punjab Kings (PBKS):
The Mohali based Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise will set high standards for themselves as they have a huge purse value left to go in the coming IPL 2022 mega auction. The franchise has decided to retain Mayank Agarwal (12 Crores) and Arshdeep Singh (4 Crores).
With heavy purse value, PBKS can target any cricketer present in the auction and Ben Stokes will be one of them. Stokes presence in the side can cure its everlasting choking behaviour.
PBKS have not performed up to its standards in the IPL. The franchise has bagged several hefty players from the auction but couldn’t bring out the best from its players.
The franchise can target him and can even assign him the leadership role. KL Rahul’s absence in the squad has created a void that is required to be filled with a suitable candidate and who could be better than all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Stokes can also assist his young gun bowlers during the slog overs and bring the best out of them. He can turn the fortunes of the franchise which is what Punjab Kings wants.
IPL franchises that can target Ben Stokes in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction or before.
Mumbai Indians (MI):
The other name that comes on the list is Mumbai Indians (MI), the five-times IPL winners. Mumbai has retained four players in the recent player retentions. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Kieron Pollard are their top retentions and the franchise had to leave out colourful all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
The decorated franchise has always invested in its all-rounders and can opt to try their hands on Ben Stokes’s services. Mumbai will look to procure the elite class services of Ben Stokes from the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
Mumbai Indians strength lied in its middle order and the IPL 2022 mega auction has dismantled it. With a responsibility to form a strong squad, Mumbai will surely target Ben Stokes.
The franchise had the likes of Hardik Pandya until IPL 2021, however, he has now been released. His absence from the team will be a concern for MI and getting Ben Stokes in his place could be an X-Factor move.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH):
The Sun group owned Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will also be keen on getting Ben Stokes services. The franchise has a total of INR 68 Crores left in their purse which is the second-highest value after Punjab Kings (PBKS).
SRH have retained only three players in Kane Williamson (INR 14 Crores), Abdul Samad and Umran Malik for INR 4 Crore apiece.
SRH will try to form a strong core of the side with Kane Williamson and a few other players by picking them from the auction table. Moreover, SRH has released Rashid Khan to the auction which means that SRH will have to try to acquire some of the best overseas players.
Stokes assistance to Williamson could be key to SRH’s success in the future. He is a consistent player across formats and can help the youngsters grow, especially the likes of Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.