MS Dhoni (L) and Stephen Fleming© X (formerly Twitter)
England Test skipper Ben Stokes opened up about his experience with Chennai Super Kings and the relationship that franchise captain MS Dhoni and coach Stephen Fleming share. Stokes was brought in by CSK for Rs 16.25 crore, and played only two matches, scoring 15 runs with the best score of eight runs. He could not get any wickets. The all-rounder missed the majority of the season due to fitness issues. The 32-year-old talked about his time with the franchise and the relationship he saw Dhoni and Fleming had. “You say we ended up winning, that’s how I got the TFC Award, the ‘Thanks For Coming’ award. Obviously, it didn’t quite go how I wanted it to with the injury and stuff like that. But just being part of an unbelievable franchise like Chennai. I’ve worked with Fleming and MS before when I was playing in Pune.
“think how MS and Fleming complemented each other was something to behold. The trust that they have in the decisions they make, one as a coach and one as a captain. MS has the emotion of being out in the game, whereas sometimes when you’re sitting on the sideline, you don’t have that emotion,” Stokes said on Jio Cinema
“I think they both have an incredible understanding of that. But one thing me and Baz always try to do, and what MS and Flem do is whatever decision they make around selection or whatever decision they have to make very quickly, it’s always based around what’s best for the team. That’s something me and Baz always try and live by when we make decisions,” he added.
Stokes participated in the ODI World Cup 2023, which he came out of retirement for. He played six matches in the tournament, scoring 304 runs at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of above 89, with one century and two half-centuries. His best score was 108. Though his side finished seventh in the tournament and failed to defend the title, they secured a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to be held in Pakistan.
He recently led England to a 28-run Test win on India soil. Ollie Pope’s 196 and Tom Hartley’s spell of 7-62 inspired the visitors to a famous victory.
Both teams will face off against each other on February 2 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
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