'Ben, You're Not New...': MS Dhoni’s Gesture to Welcome Ben Stokes to CSK Camp is Pure Gold - WATCH

SpringBing

Editor

posted on 1 year ago — updated on 1 second ago

6
views

CSK organised an in-house event, called ‘An Evening with Super Kings’ in which skipper MS Dhoni welcomed all the new players of the team who were picked up in the mini players’ auction last year

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) aim to start afresh in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they begin their campaign against reigning champions Gujarat Titans on Friday night in Ahmedabad. The fans are eagerly waiting to see a mega reunion of MS Dhoni and all-rounder Ben Stokes in the tournament. Back in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, both played together for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants and produced some phenomenal results. Six years later, the two superstars of the game will be back together but under the CSK banner.

IPL 2023 Full Coverage | IPL 2023 Schedule | IPL 2023 Results | IPL Orange Cap | IPL Purple Cap

Prior to their opening game against GT, the franchise organised an in-house event, called ‘An Evening with Super Kings’ in which skipper MS Dhoni welcomed all the new players of the team who were picked up in the mini players’ auction last year. Stokes, who was roped in for a whopping amount of ₹16.25 crore, was one of the players who received a warm welcome from the CSK skipper and former BCCI chief and N Srinivasan.

IPL 2023 Opening Ceremony LIVE Updates

“I would like to welcome all the new players. Ben, I know you are not new, but you are new for CSK so please, I request you to come on stage," Dhoni said while welcoming the English all-rounder.

All the newcomers were welcomed to the stage and handed their CSK jerseys. While Stokes got his jersey no. 55, Shaik Rasheed received No. 66 and Ajinkya Rahane No. 21. The likes of Ajay Mandal and Nishant Sindhu were given their respective jerseys by CEO Kasi Viswanathan and coach Stephen Fleming respectively.

Here is the full list of newcomers in the CSK camp:

Ajinkya Rahane (India) – INR 50 lakh
Ben Stokes (England) – INR 16.25 crore
Nishant Sindhu (India) – INR 60 lakh
Shaik Rasheed (India) – INR 20 lakh
Kyle Jamieson (New Zealand) – INR 1 crore
Ajay Mandal (India) – INR 20 lakh
Bhagath Varma (India) – INR 20 lakh

List of retained players:

MS Dhoni, Devon Conway, Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Matheesha Pathirana, Simarjeet Singh, Chahar, Prashant Solanki and Maheesh Theekshana.

Get the latest Cricket News here