IPL extravaganza about learning not earning, says Stokes
Ben Stokes might be one of the top expected buys of the IPL auction 2017, but that is not playing on the all-rounder's mind, as all he wants is to get picked to play for an IPL side. For him, IPL is more of a learning platform and he would want to focus on improving his T20 skills.
This Monday morning, Ben Stokes could wake up a very rich man. The IPL auction will be held in India and Ben Stokes is expected to be one of the most expensive buys this season.
Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Lions are said to be the two teams that have shown interest in bringing the 25-year-old on to their rosters. English players, the ones which have been picked, have generally collected huge cheques at the IPL auctions in the previous years, with Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen going for £1 million in 2009.
Stokes, who is an excellent all-rounder, has proved that he can play in Indian conditions, with his performances in the recently concluded England tour of India. He was also a part of the England team that reached the final of the World T20 in India last year. However, Stokes would like to forget that World Cup as he had a stunning meltdown in the last over which saw West Indies' Carlos Brathwaite getting 24 runs off 4 balls to take home the championship.
Stokes, however, is not too stoked about having teams go crazy over him. All he wants to is get picked up, not necessarily for a huge amount.
“I just want to get picked up. That is the main thing about it. I asked Jos Butler how it was and he said it is “gun” which is what we (England players) say for awesome. Since he came back from the IPL you can tell from the way he has played he has gone to another level in terms of hitting, his consistency and where he can hit the ball. He has always been able to hit around the ground but playing in the IPL has taken him another level from where he was.
We are a very strong team England wise but it will be nice to go away somewhere and focus on the skills that I want to get better at in T20 which are hitting the boundary, different areas and different options with the bat. How to bowl in a given situation but then also doing it against the best players in the world that those competitions (IPL) attract. Observing those players as well close up is another big thing. Just being in an environment with these guys, training with them, picking their minds on cricket is the kind of thing you can only benefit from," he said.
And there's no doubt what happens to a player's brand value if he performs in an IPL. He'll get to star in TV ads, brand endorsement deals would come rolling in, and riches would not seem to stop for the newly appointed England Vice-Captain.
But all this is not on Stokes' mind. He, in fact, won't even be awake when the auctions begin at 3.30AM GMT on Monday. That will be the job of Neil Fairbrother, his agent. Stokes, meanwhile, will wake up with his children and head for training with the rest of the England squad which leaves for West Indies on Wednesday for a short 3-match ODI tour.
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