Captain Ben Stokes has revealed that he has chosen not to participate in the recently held Indian Premier League (IPL) mega-auction in Jeddah in order to further his career in England. Stokes has previously played in the IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in 2017. . The England player entered the auction and under the new rules, if he had been acquired by a team in the mega-auction and then declined, he would not have been acquired if it was for a valid reason. Eligible to participate in the next two seasons of competition.
“There’s so much going on (in cricket). There’s nothing behind the fact that I’m at the tail end of my career. I obviously want to play for as long as possible. The key is to take care of yourself and take care of yourself as much as you can.
“[It’s]about prioritizing the game and when playing – obviously this year I’m in South Africa – so it’s about looking ahead and making the decisions that I think are right for me.” I want to extend my career as long as possible,” Stokes told BBC Sport ahead of the opening Test series between England and New Zealand in Christchurch.
For the next game, England handed their debut to left-handed batsman Jacob Bethel, who will be their number three batsman. The team currently sits sixth in the ongoing World Test Championship points table and is out of contention to qualify for next year’s final at Lord’s.
“When you see that pitch in England, you pray to God to win the toss and bowl first. In New Zealand, it’s great. When you look at the wicket, the play is completely different than it seems. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow and what situations we’ll face as the game progresses and if we need to adapt to anything we’ll do it.”
“The World Test Championship is a bit confusing. I don’t think about that. If you’ve been playing really good cricket for a long time and getting the results you wanted, eventually you’ll find yourself ” both in the final and in the mix.
“The important thing for me and this team is to take it game by game, series by series. If we end up in a position where we happen to get to the final, that would be great.”Special on the World Test Championship “I’ve never had real time to think,” Stokes concluded.
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