RCB captain Virat Kohli might be tempted to have Ben Stokes as his IPL teammate

Indian captain Virat Kohli hailed Ben Stokes’ performances in the 3rd and the final ODI at the Eden Gardens which helped the visitors to keep India’s scoreline down to 2-1. Kohli’s word of praise for Ben Stokes have raised speculations that the charismatic Indian captain might well be tempted to have Ben Stokes as his teammate in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The southpaw stroked his way to a quickfire 57 of 39 balls to add late impetus to the England innings which propelled them to 321. With the ball in hand, Stokes bagged 3 crucial wickets which were instrumental in England winning the dead rubber.

“He’s (Stokes) a guy with great character, he’s always fighting to win games for England. We have seen that from him in Test cricket and today he was really motivated to win the game for them. You could tell from his body language. The way he bowled, the way he batted and the way he was running in the end as well, while he was batting. I mean every side is pleased to have cricketers like that. And nowadays everyone does play with that mindset,” Kohli told reporter after the match.

During the Test series which India won by a 4-0 margin, Stokes and Kohli were involved in an on-field altercation which resulted in Stokes receiving an official reprimand from the match referee. Stokes who is one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket today, expressed his excitement for entering the IPL auctions for the very first time in his career.

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“I have put myself up for the auction. It is a good opportunity to go away and experience a different competition. This year’s IPL is a chance not just for myself but to a few other English guys to go and experience what it is like and get a different side of T20 cricket rather than just playing in England. I am looking forward to seeing, if I get a chance. You end up playing against the best players in the world, although it is T20 cricket. Look at the guys who have played in franchise cricket in Australia and India as well,” Stokes concluded.