Former Indian opener explains why Ben Stokes isn't a good choice as future captain for Chennai in Indian T20 League

Ben Stokes (Source -Twitter)

The Indian T20 League Mini Auction 2023 was an absolute field day for players like Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes. Stokes went for INR 16.25 crore and he was bought by Chennai. Even though it was wonderful to see Chennai get Ben Stokes and it also created a huge buzz among the fans.

But one man who was very surprised to see  Stokes being paid a very handsome price at the auction was Aakash Chopra. This was the second time that Chennai had splurged all their money as they had done the same last year on Deepak Chahar to retain him but he was injured last season.

"It was a bit baffling for me when Chennai went for Stokes. I felt they won't go for Stokes and would go for Kane Williamson if they needed a future captain. But the fact that they went hard for Stokes might mean that they are looking to make him Dhoni's successor and want to build a team around him." Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Stokes purchase has thrown the Team combination out of the window- Chopra

He also went on to say that with Chennai buying Stokes, it remains to be seen whether Stokes shows his worth at the Chepauk. Stokes might not be useful to Chennai in the spin-conducive conditions and slow tracks over there. A free-stroking player like Stokes would have preferred batting-friendly conditions such as Mumbai or Bangalore.

"When I look at the pitch in Chennai, I get confused about where Stokes will bat and with what kind of approach. He is surely not Bravo's replacement as he doesn't bowl that way, and they also don't have any top-order slots empty. If he plays at No. 3 and Moeen Ali at No. 4, then where will the likes of Rayudu, Jadeja and Dhoni bat?"

The big price tag of Ben Stokes would mean that Chennai would end up playing him in every game and that has put the Chennai side off balance because Stokes is not a bowler who primarily does not bowl at the death. So this means Devon Conway. Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Maheesh Teekshana will be Chennai's likely four overseas players which means they cannot play Dwaine Pretorius at the death which would handicap their death overs bowling.