Last Updated on 2 years by Tarkesh Jha
England Test head coach Brendon McCullum has placed his faith on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to look after Ben Stokes as the all-rounder insists on fulfilling his Rs 16.25 crore worth contract for the Indian Premier League ahead of a busy summer.
Stokes’ left knee requires constant attention and he visibly suffered whilst carrying out both batting and bowling responsibilities during England’s recent second Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve. The Ashes 2023 is set to begin at Edgbaston from June 16 and the finals of IPL 2023 will be held on May 28.
McCullum, who represented CSK across two seasons from 2014-15, expressed confidence in the franchise and instead said that he is excited to see Stokes play without the burden of captaincy.
“The Chennai set-up is excellent in looking after their players and they’ve a very good medical team and he will be well looked after. The skipper has a strong mind and he knows how to get right for the big moments,” McCullum’s statement was quoted in a report by ESPN Cricinfo.
The tactician added, “I have got a tee-time with him (Fleming) tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. So I will be talking to him and making sure he looks after the skipper, but I know that Chennai set-up actually. I played in that franchise and they are very good. They have got a good team and an outstanding leader in Flem.”
McCullum has refrained from discussing the Ashes so far. He reportedly labels it as an unhealthy English obsession but is gradually acknowledging the hype surrounding the series. England last won the Ashes in 2015 but have been in an imperious run of form since McCullum took over the coaching duties. They have won 10 out of the 12 games since then, losing the latest to New Zealand by a bare margin of one run.
“Now we can really get excited about it, I think we have tried to live in the moment rather than look too far ahead and make sure that we’re really present with what we’re doing. Now we have the opportunity to really start to plot and plan, and turn our attention to what’s going to be a pretty amazing time in the guys’ lives: an Ashes series at home against a good Australian side,” McCullum mentioned in the aforementioned report.
Several English stars like Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Jofra Archer amongst others have to fulfil their IPL commitments prior to the commencement of the Test summer. Stokes’ influence in the Test setup has been palpable since he took over the captaincy responsibilities and hence his presence will be instrumental in ensuring that England break their Ashes drought with an inspiring performance in June-July this month.
