England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who became the highest paid overseas player in the Indian Premier league auction, is excited about sharing the dressing room with Steven Smith and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his maiden stint at the cash-rich event.
England players landed lucrative deals at the auction yesterday with Stokes bagging the biggest of them all after being bought for Rs 14.5 crore by Rising Pune Supergiants.
"I am really looking forward to playing with MS Dhoni and Steven Smith. It will be great to share the dressing room with both these players. Dhoni is one of the biggest players in the world and Smith too is one of the best. While I have had some heated moments against Smith, looking forward to play alongside him. He is an amazing player," Stokes said in a Facebook chat on his official page.
The all-rounder had a good last year and was impressive during the recent series in India even though England lost the Test, ODI and T20 series. Pune is the home ground for Supergiants and Stokes is looking forward to play there. "Pune is one of my favourite grounds. I had a great time during the ODI series against India and I am looking forward to coming back at this venue."
Stokes hoped more English players would play IPl in the future. "Both Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler have had nothing but high praise for the tournament. Hopefully, you will see more England players in the future in this tournament."
Stokes, Woakes to skip ODIs for ipl
After fetching a record deal at the IPl acutions, England's richest cricketer Ben Stokes will now skip his country's two-match ODI series against Ireland to be available for the entire duration of 14 league matches of Rising Pune Supergiants. Mumbai Indians' Jos Buttler and Kolkata Knight Riders' Chris Woakes will also be available for entire league stage and will only return post May 14, according to a report in Cricinfo. Pacer Tymal Mills, who got Rs 12 crore from RCB, too will be available for the entire duration of the tournament.