In order to prepare for the Ireland Test and Ashes, Ben Stokes plans to leave the IPL early
Ben Stokes has declared he will end his IPL responsibilities early in order to get ready for the summer of the 2023 Test series.
During England’s recent series with Pakistan, Ben Stokes expressed his intention to commit to the league despite missing the previous season. Stokes was hired by Chennai Super Kings for £1.6 million in the December auction for the next season.
The final will take place on May 28, according to the IPL schedule, which was revealed last Friday. This puts it just four days before England’s first summer Test against Ireland at Lord’s (June 1), which kicks off a five-match Ashes series.
Given the interference with the start of the international summer in England, it is typical for players, especially those with central contracts, to skip the final stages of the IPL.
However, the ECB has recently worked with players when it comes to fixture confusion between international and T20 tournaments thanks to the more affiliative approach taken by director of men’s cricket Rob Key and Test coach Brendon McCullum.
Most particularly, a number of players turned down England’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh to fulfill their Pakistan Super League contracts.
Since taking over as full-time Test captain, Stokes has led his team to 10 victories in 11 games. With that kind of record, he might have been eligible to play the entire competition and drop in for the first Test at Lord’s, like Trent Boult did for New Zealand last year. He has determined that returning early would be the best option.
“Yes, I’ll play,”
Stokes answered when asked if he will play the Ireland Test.
“I’ll be making sure that I give myself enough time to get back and play that [Ireland] game.”
It remains to be seen how many others adopt his strategy. Eight additional Test players, either active or available, are scheduled to participate in the IPL, six of whom are under full-time contracts (Joe Root, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran), and the eighth is under an incremental contract (Harry Brook).
Stokes said he will discuss what they need to be ready for the Ashes, keeping the door open for some to skip the Ireland Test if they’d choose. The ECB might impose a deadline for their return.
“I’ll probably get round the individuals and ask them what they want to be ready for for the Ashes, because those five games are obviously the big ones of the summer, and you’ve got to think about what lads want.”
“But what if something were to happen in that game [Ireland] and we lose someone for the Ashes … It’s just one of those where you have to weigh up the options of what the individual person actually wants out of that week, versus do we really need to play that one. Because, obviously, I’m right in saying that the series is bigger than that game against Ireland.”
Early in the second Test at the Basin Reserve, Stokes said he would prefer to start with an unchanged starting lineup in Wellington.
But, there are doubts about his ability to achieve that considering the seamers James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, and Stuart Broad are being watched after the 267-run victory at Mount Maunganui.
Robinson is most likely to take a break after experiencing pain below his left knee on day three. If it is determined that he won’t make it through the Test, Olly Stone’s increased pace or Matthew Potts’ comparable flawless accuracy are candidates to take his place.
“If we have got a couple of people who are a bit sore, or bowlers who don’t feel like they are 100 percent right to go, then I will still be picking my best team because I will be picking the XI who are able to play,”
Stokes said.
“So it’s the beauty of the squad we’ve got at the moment – if someone doesn’t feel like they’re quite up to performing again after a close turnaround, we’ll still be able to pick the best team judging by the people we’ve got.”