Ben Stokes brought the curtains down on his international career and announced a shock retirement on Sunday (June 28). The legendary all-rounder recently made his return to the Test team for the third game against New Zealand.
He and Gus Atkinson weren’t included for the second Test in the aftermath of the nightclub incident. Stokes is one of the best all-rounders across all formats and he was in high demand in IPL too. Such was Stokes’ demand that he earned more than MS Dhoni in both the seasons they played for the same team. The England all-rounder finally entered the IPL auction for the first time in 2017.
Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) spent a huge sum of Rs 14.50 crore on Stokes to get his services. RPS had signed Dhoni for Rs 12.50 crore in the draft which took place before IPL 2016. Dhoni represented RPS for two seasons.
RPS made it to the final of IPL 2017 under Steve Smith’s captaincy. Stokes had returned to England and didn’t play the final. RPS fell short by just one run in the final against Mumbai Indians (MI).
Stokes joined Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2018 mega-auction for Rs 12.50 crore while Dhoni returned to CSK for a salary of Rs 15 crore.
Ben Stokes became MS Dhoni’s teammate again
Stokes became Dhoni’s teammate again in IPL 2023. The Yellow Army broke their bank for the all-rounder and signed him for a huge amount of Rs 16.25 crore.
Dhoni was retained for Rs 12 crore, which meant Stokes earned more than Dhoni once again. Stokes only played two matches in the season due to an injury and wasn’t available for the second round.
Dhoni-led CSK defeated Gujarat Titans in a nail-biting final to lift the trophy for the fifth time. Stokes hasn’t been part of an IPL auction since then. Now that Stokes’ career is over, it will be interesting to see if he makes his return to IPL. Under the IPL rules, Stokes can only return to the IPL after putting his name in the IPL 2028 mega-auction.