IPL Auction 2023: Ben Stokes reacts in unique fashion after CSK snap him for INR 16.25 crore

Chennai Super Kings spent a whopping INR 16.25 crore to sign English star Ben Stokes in the IPL 2023 mini-auction on Friday (December 23). As expected, Stokes led to a fierce bidding war between IPL giants with CSK placing the winning bid in the end. Notably, the English all-rounder surpassed Indian pacer Deepak Chahar to become CSK's most expensive buy in IPL history.

Stokes was quick to express his love for CSK with a unique post on his official Twitter handle as he posted a plain yellow snapshot with no caption. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings franchise also commented on Stokes post through their official handle.

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Stokes' former team Rajasthan Royals opened a bid for him and were quickly joined by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Lucknow Super Giants joined the bidding with an INR 7 crore bid and were joined by Sunrisers Hyderbad. CSK entered the bid for the first time with INR 15.25 crore and seemed inclined to rope in Stokes and they beat LSG finally with a winning bid of 16.25 crore.

CSK fans also joined in with their welcome messages for Stokes. The Yellow franchise also grabbed veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane at his base price of INR 50 lakh. Notably, both Rahane and Stokes played under the captaincy of Steve Smith for the Pune franchise in 2017. Meanwhile, many have tipped Stokes as the next captain for Chennai Super Kings as MS Dhoni is likely to retire after the 2023 season. 

In 2023, though, the team will be led by the veteran skipper. "Obviously everybody knows that Thalaivan (MS Dhoni) is the one who is going to lead the side and he will do his best and the team will do well," franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan had said earlier this year after announcing CSK's retained and released players ahead of the 2023 IPL auction.

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