Ben Stokes IPL Career, Records & Stats

Mar 31, 2023

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Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: Twitter/CSK)

Ben Stokes has become a huge name in international cricket due to his exceptional all-round talent. Playing for England, he has performed exceptionally well in all three formats of the sport. In December 2022, he hit headlines for becoming one of the most expensive players in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Christchurch-born player got signed at a massive sum of INR 16.25 crore by four-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the 2023 IPL auction.

Back in 2017, the swashbuckling all-rounder made his debut in the league for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). His team’s campaign ended in the final after losing to the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) by just 1 run. In the competition, Stokes played a crucial part in his team’s finish as the runners-up, racking up 316 runs and claiming 12 wickets in 12 games of the tournament.

Playing a league game against Gujarat Lions (GL), he took his team home with a spectacular century that came in just 61 deliveries. Earlier, Pune had lost three of their wickets on the score of just 10, and the matter got worse with Rahul Tripathi departing when the team was on 42. In such a crunch situation, Stokes held his nerves and took the control of the match in his hands. Riding on his spunky 103-run knock, RPS hammered Lions comfortably with five wickets in hand, and the stylish batter also received the Player of the Match award for his brilliant batting display.

This wasn’t the first time Stokes had saved a game for Pune in the tournament. Just a couple of weeks before the GL clash, he had delivered an exceptional bowling spell for his team against RCB. Picking up figures of 3/18 with the ball, he took the match away from Challengers. His scalps included heavyweights such as Virat Kohli and Shane Watson.

Earlier, the star player was picked up by RPS at INR 14.5 crore at the 2017 IPL auction. The dashing player justified his price tag with his stellar performance. At the end of the competition, he also became the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament for his all-round show.

Ben Stokes became a Royal after being signed for a hefty sum in IPL 2018

With the conclusion of the 2017 IPL edition, RPS’s two-year IPL tenure ended along with GL, as two old franchises Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to the league after serving their two-year suspension. Following Stokes’s performance for RPS in 2017, Rajasthan Royals (RR) didn’t hesitate to spend INR 12.5 crore at the 2018 IPL auction to acquire his services.

After receiving the humongous amount from RR, the all-rounder also became the costliest player of the auction. With the hefty price tag, the team management was expecting him to be at his best in the tournament; however, that couldn’t happen as he couldn’t be impactful for the Jaipur-based team.

Scoring only 196 runs and picking up eight wickets in 13 games, he failed to perform up to his team’s expectations. He also left the camp midway to join England for the two-match home Test series against Pakistan. Nevertheless, the franchise didn’t lose faith in the stalwart and continued the contract with him for the 2019 season as well.

However, he couldn’t do wonders for Royals in 2019 either. Playing his third IPL season, the fierce England player could amass only 123 runs in nine matches at a horrendous strike rate of 124.24. Apart from batting, he failed to show up with the ball either. The right-arm medium-fast pacer took only six wickets in nine matches at a dismal economy of 11.22.

In 2020, Stokes looked better as he delivered some solid performances for Royals with the bat. The Southpaw notched up his second IPL ton against MI in the 45th league match. Facing the dangerous bowling line-up, he exuded confidence and played some exquisite strokes. His fantabulous batting effort helped RR pocket the crucial match by eight wickets.

Witnessing his record in the previous season, RR team management and supporters were expecting him to showcase his skills in 2021 too, but the veteran ended up injuring his finger while fielding against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The injury forced him to stay away from the tournament as RR eventually ended up in the seventh position on the points table.