Chennai Super Kings fans were left shocked on Tuesday as news emerged that the franchise might be releasing England all-rounder Ben Stokes from their squad ahead of next year's Indian Premier League
The news was revealed by Cricbuzz but there has not been any official confirmation from the CSK camp yet.
Stokes and CSK are likely to part ways due to the cricket legend's potential unavailability for IPL 2024.
Stokes played the ICC World Cup 2023 with a knee injury and is set to undergo a surgery for the same now that England have crashed out in the league stage.
Stokes's injury woes continue
Stokes made his ODI comeback from retirement for the World Cup in India but he only played as a specialist batter for the defending champions. He did not bowl a single delivery in the tournament due to his long-standing knee issue.
CSK, who won the IPL last year for a record-equalling fifth time under MS Dhoni, had paid a whopping ₹16.25 crore for Stokes in last year's auction.
But he only played the first two T20s for CSK and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament with a toe injury.
"We would not consider releasing Stokes if he could be available because he is a big match player, and we hold him in the highest regard.
"But if he can't make it to the season, we will have blocked Rs 16 crore with which we could acquire some quality players," a CSK official was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
