'You might say it's disappointing but...': Ben Stokes breaks silence on injury-marred season with CSK in IPL 2023

'You might say it's disappointing but...': Ben Stokes breaks silence on injury-marred season with CSK in IPL 2023

Ben Stokes played just two games in a season in which Chennai Super Kings won a record-equalling fifth IPL title.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) looked like a well-oiled unit towards the end of the season as they romped their way to the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) final. Once there, they beat defending champions Gujarat Titans in a last-ball thriller that stretched to nearly three days due to incessant rain in Ahmedabad. They weren't looking that assured in the first half of the league stage though, chiefly because of the injuries that their star players were picking up.

The most notable among them was Ben Stokes, the ace all-rounder and England's Test captain. Stokes had come in with a lot of hype but he also came with injury troubles. With England set to embark on a big summer that includes the Ashes, Stokes had to take a backseat this season, just two games scoring 15 runs and taking no wickets in the one over he managed to bowl. He saw the lighter side of things talking to the media, comparing the role he played in the IPL final to former England football captain John Terry's as his club Chelsea won the 2013 Champions League.

"I played a little bit of a John Terry role winning the IPL," the allrounder joked during press commitments at Lord's a couple of days after Chennai Super Kings won a thrilling final in Ahmedabad. Terry famously lifted the Champions League trophy in 2012 dressed in his full Chelsea kit despite missing the final against Bayern Munich through suspension.