‘The wickets are trash’ – Ben Stokes questions the quality of pitches in IPL 2021

Ben Stokes, the England all-rounder, has sounded skeptical over the nature of the pitches in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The first leg of the T20 tournament is currently taking place at two venues- The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The pitches at both the grounds have been a tad contrasting.

The track in Mumbai has produced some high-scoring matches with targets in excess of 200 not being deemed safe for oppositions. On the contrary, targets of 150 have been tough to chase down at the Chepauk. In Chennai, as the ball gets old, batting becomes an arduous task.

Stokes said that an IPL game should witness scores of around 160-170 and not 130-140. The veteran kept his fingers crossed that the tracks won’t get worse going deep into the tournament.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Hope the wickets don’t get worse as the @IPL gets deeper into the tournament…160/170 minimum not scraping to 130/140 cause the wickets are trash..,”

Here’s the tweet

Hope the wickets don’t get worse as the @IPL gets deeper into the tournament..160/170 minimum not scraping to 130/140 cause the wickets are trash..

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) April 23, 2021

Ben Stokes ruled out of IPL 2021

Stokes played only one game for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing league. In his very first game against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), captained by KL Rahul, he sustained a finger injury and was thereafter ruled out of the tournament. Apart from Stokes, RR also lost fast bowler Jofra Archer and batter Liam Livingstone.

Even as Archer was ruled out due to a hand injury, Livingstone pulled out of the league, citing ‘bubble fatigue’. In the meantime, former England cricketer, Kevin Pietersen, reckoned that trading should take place inside team bubbles to help the Royals make a recovery.

Pietersen took to Twitter and wrote, “Do you think trading inside team bubbles should be allowed this @IPL season? A team like RR desperately need overseas players.”

The Royals are placed at the bottom of the points table after their defeat by 10 wickets at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Mumbai. Sanju Samson and Co are next set to lock horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday, April 24 in Mumbai itself.