5 players who can trigger bidding war between MI and CSK at upcoming mini-auction

2. Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes is one of the best all-rounders going around in world cricket. The veteran cricketer has the ability to take even the top-quality bowling attacks to the cleaners and can test batters with his disciplined bowling. The ace all-rounder has featured in a total of 155 T20 games and accumulated 2956 runs at a strike rate of 133.99. On the bowling front, he has picked up 92 wickets at an economy of 8.42.

Stokes first entered the IPL auction landscape in 2017 and franchises went all guns blazing to pick him. Eventually, it were the Rising Pune Supergiants who picked him for a whooping sum of INR 14.5 CR. With the flamboyant cricketer expected to feature at the upcoming mini-auction, another bidding war could be on the cards, and MI and CSK could be at the forefront of the same.

Apart from Shivam Dube, Chennai do not have a seam-bowling all-rounder in their squad who could bat in the middle order. Having a top-quality player like Stokes would lessen this worry and add depth to the side. Also, the England veteran could be a captaincy candidate after Dhoni hangs his boots. 

When it comes to Mumbai Indians, they struggled to find the right team composition. They had roped in the likes of Daniel Sams and Fabian Allen at the 2022 mega auction to contribute in both departments, but that did not go down as per expectations. Also, with Kieron Pollard’s dwindling returns, Stokes could be a perfect option for MI for an all-rounder role.