Working with a T20 bowling coach favored him the most says Ben Stokes

It took some time for English all-rounder Ben Stokes to prove his class in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League, but as we say it is always better late than never. The tall left-handed batsman pounded on the RCB bowling attack destructively, with the willow in his hand which saw his team home from a rough situation. He went on to score an unbeaten 103 which completely justified the big amount of money that was spent on him.

Apart from his performance with the bat, Stokes has also been decent with the ball. He has the best of 3/18 to show by his name in this year’s IPL which includes the wicket of India and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli. He also looks in good shape after coming back from the grade one tear on his right shoulder which cost him two crucial matches the week before indicating that the injury is not taking a toll on his performances.

The 25-year-old stated that he has benefited a lot from the cash-rich tournament as a player. “One of the biggest things that I’ll be able to say that I’ve taken away from here is working with a Twenty20 bowling coach – whose sole focus is on that,” Stokes told Sky Sports.

“It’s very, very simple; he’s really helped me and my consistency with my areas is probably as good as it has ever been, which obviously I’ll be able to take back into the Champions Trophy,” he said.

Stokes who has represented the Three Lions in 32 Tests and 53 ODI’s also highlighted the fact that its an honour to share the dressing room and field with world-class sportsmen like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Steven Smith.

“Every training session out here you learn something new and being around the guys – MS Dhoni, Steve Smith is only a good thing.” added Stokes.

“I can’t express how good this experience has been to everyone back home and you’ll hear exactly the same from the other English guys out here.”

26-year-old Rahul Tripathi played a mesmerising knock of 93 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders which saw the Rising Pune Supergiant secure their 7th win of the season. Tripathi took the responsibility on his shoulders and played the innings of a thorough professional when Dhoni, Smith and Stokes himself failed to deliver. He heaped praise upon the youngster and claimed that Tripathi will play for the national side and that day is not far away.

“When I first got here I didn’t really know anyone but I’ve been here four or five weeks now so it’s good,” he reflected.

“Tripathi didn’t play the first couple of games but he really impressed in all the warm-up games and in the nets he just looks a million dollars. He’s going to be a superstar, I think. He’s proved when he’s come in, he’s performed in every single game and you can just tell from the shots that he plays that he’s got some serious talent. I think he can only go further and I don’t think it will be long until we see him in an India shirt.” Stokes added.

The New Zealand-born cricketer also had a few words to say about his brilliant knock at Pune against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He pointed out the fact that he enjoyed batting in such a circumstance which gave him the opportunity to build and play a mature knock.

“It was a good opportunity to get in and try to construct an innings,” said Stokes. “The most pleasing thing was playing that way when the team was under pressure; we knew how much we needed to win that game to keep ourselves in with a good chance of reaching the finals,” he concluded.