While Ben Stokes did not have the best of campaigns with Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023, it did help him pick some important lessons from the books of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming.
After being bought for a whopping amount of Rs 16.25 crores, Ben Stokes managed to play just two games through the season, scoring 15 runs and bowling just the one over. The England allrounder was struggling with an knee injury during the IPL. Later, CSK decided to part ways with him before the auction.
And while Ben Stokes did struggle to perform well in CSK colours, the campaign helped him pick the brains of highly successful captain-coach duo of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming. The England Test captain has revealed the impact of Dhoni and Fleming’s methods on his camaraderie with England Test coach Brendon McCullum.
Ben Stokes and McCullum have forged a highly-successful partnership since being appointed the Test captain and coach in 2022. England are yet to lose a Test series under them and recently registered a memorable win over Team India in the Hyderabad Test to take the lead in the five-match series.
Ben Stokes opens up on Dhoni-Fleming impact:
Opening up on his stay in the CSK dressing room, Ben Stokes talked about the partnership between Dhoni and Fleming. The England star stated that the CSK captain and coach complement each other well and have a great understanding between them. He stated that he and McCullum always try to take decisions that is in the best interest of the team.
“Just being part of an unbelievable franchise like Chennai. I’ve worked with Flem (Fleming) and MS (Dhoni) before when I was playing in Pune. I think how MS and Flem 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 and I think they both have an incredible understanding of that,” Ben Stokes told Dinesh Karthik in a conversation on Jio Cinema.
“But one thing me and Bazz 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 Bazz always try and live by when we make decisions,” he added.
Meanwhile, England will be hoping to extend their winning start when they take on India in the second Test, scheduled to be played from February 2 in Vizag.
