"I played a little bit of a John Terry role winning IPL," Ben Stokes on CSK victory
Jun 01, 2023
London [UK], June 1 : England team captain Ben Stokes believes that he played the 'John Terry role' in his IPL team CSK's victory this season.
Stoke referred to Chelsea Legend 'John Terry' who famously lifted the Champions League trophy in 2012 dressed in his Chelsea kit despite missing the final against Bayern Munich through suspension.
Stokes during press commitments at Lord's discussed his role in his team's victory in IPL. He said, "I played a little bit of a John Terry role winning the IPL"
Stokes joined the CSK franchise for INR 16.25 crore but played only two matches due to a toe injury. Stokes last appeared in April against Lucknow Super Giants. He was back in the UK and watched the inspiring victory of his team against Gujarat Titans on his phone in the bar of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.
The English team is staying at the hotel for their one-off match against Ireland. Stokes has limited his bowling between Test as he believes that he has a finite number of overs left in his carrier.
"Before I didn't have to worry about that, I could just bowl and bowl and bowl and turn up pretty fresh. Now I'm probably not able to do that, so in-between games is probably the most important bit of managing anything correctly." Stokes was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"The thing about me is that I don't need much bowling for the rest of my body to tick over. I can have quite a lot of time off and then build up quite quickly. It's not doom and gloom if I do or don't bowl in this game."
Stokes pointed out that his injury and return from the IPL have given him time to focus on his training camp. "I think I would much rather have been playing, I've then seen that as an opportunity to train as opposed to playing and then topping yourself up as the tournament goes along."
"Once you get into the tournament it's like play, travel, all that kind of stuff. So, I was actually able to turn a disappointing situation into a positive one because I was able to concentrate on properly being able to train, whether that be technical stuff with the bat or fitness stuff, stuff in the gym and being able to concentrate on something else." Stokes further added.
