The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 is all set to commence in less than a week's time. Before the start of the season, not only have the players started to join their respective franchises but have also begun their full-fledged practice session before an intense and immensely competitive two months. The latest player to have been spotted training hard at the nets was Chennai Super Kings' all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Notably, the England Test captain was bought for Rs 16.25 Crore at the mini-auction in December last year and if what was on display in the net session is anything to go by then it's surely it's not going to be easy to bowl to him in this edition of the tournament. The left-handed batter could be seen hitting some gigantic sixes at the Chepauk Stadium in his first net session with the franchise.
Despite arriving on Friday morning, Stokes chose to have a hit at the nets in the Friday and his franchise has shared a video their marquee player looking in fabulous form.
"Ben Den 🔥 #SuperForce 🦁💛," the clip has been captioned on Instagram.
Here is the video:
The four-time IPL winners will begin their campaign on Day 1 of the tournament as they take on Gujarat Titans in the season opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It wasn't the best of seasons for CSK the last time where they finished at the number 9 position at the ten-team table.
However, this year the Men in Yellow would want to finish on a high especially with reports suggesting that this could be the last year of MS Dhoni in the competition. The legendary leader has captained them ever year they have taken part in the tournament and even though Ravindra Jadeja had taken over the leadership baton last year, Dhoni was given back the responsibility midway through the season after a poor start.
No official confirmation from CSK or Dhoni has come in this regard.