IPL 2023: Ben Stokes to start as specialist batter, says batting coach Mike Hussey

England Test captain and T20 World Cup winner Ben Stokes might not bowl for a prolonged period of time in the Indian Premier League, said Chennai Super Kings batting coach Ben Stokes.

Stokes, who was bought by CSK for a massive sum of Rs 16.25 crore in the IPL 2023 auction is one of the biggest names in the world of cricket, and expected to be a core member of the Chennai outfit, in what could be MS Dhoni’s final season as a player for the franchise.

Former CSK and Australia player Mike Hussey spoke about the development ahead of the upcoming season and told ESPNCricinfo in an interview that CSK and England Cricket Board are working closesly to get the all-rounder back to peak condition.

“He (Stokes) is ready to go as a batsman from the start, the bowling might be wait and see. I know he had his first very light bowl this week since he had his injections in his knee,” Hussey said.

Stokes has been struggling with his landing knee for a while and faced issues with it during the recently concluded New Zealand Test series. The CSK batting coach elaborated on the latest and said that he expects Stokes to bowl at some stage of the tournament.

“My understanding is he won’t be bowling much at all in the first few games of the tournament, or it might be a few weeks, I’m not 100 percent sure. But hopefully we’ll get him bowling at some stage in the tournament,” Hussey said.

England players have been of high demand in the IPL 2023 auction, with the likes of Harry Brook, Sam Curran and Stokes fetching big money. Stokes’ injury puts questions on Chennai’s initial plans as he is expected to leave in the latter stages of the tournament to prepare for The Ashes series, set to begin in mid-June.