Has CSK Found MS Dhoni's Successor in Ben Stokes: Here's What Suresh Raina has to Say - WATCH

How long will MS Dhoni be associated with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a player; this is something which the man himself will reveal once the time comes. But given his age, the team needs to look beyond him. Most likely, the IPL 2023 would be his last edition as a player and probably that could be a reason why the franchise spent a whopping sum of Rs 16.25 crore.

Kings secured Stokes’ services for the next season and made him the joint-third most-expensive player in the auction’s history. Besides CSK, the likes of Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore raised the paddles for him. But it was the Super Kings who got the hold of the England Test captain.

The Chennai think tank has certainly got a great replacement for former Caribbean all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. But has the team also found a potential future captain in Stokes? The same question was asked to Suresh Raina as the former CSK star joined News18 Cricketnext in an exclusive conversation during the mini-auction.

Here’s what he said,

“Both Ben Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane have shared the dressing room with Dhoni bhai for the Pune franchise. It’s a very-very good pick. Also, Mumbai Indians getting Sam Curran and Cameron Green; if someone can replace Kieron Pollard in the MI camp, it has to be Green. And when this Mumbai Indians team will play at their home ground, it’s going to be fireworks all around,” Raina told News18 Cricketnext.

“Surely, MS will groom Stokes. He is a world champion and did really very well in the T20 World Cup for the team. He also led his team to a Test series win in Pakistan. So, he is in a good frame of mind. Also, his cricketing brain will be very useful for the youngsters at the Chennai camp. The Chennai crowd is going to love him. I just hope he enjoys and does a lot of ‘Whistle Podu’ for CSK,” he added.

Stokes returned to the auction pool after giving the 2022 season a miss. He was expected to be a centre of attraction during last year’s mega auction but he decided to exclude himself so that he can prioritise red-ball cricket.

Stokes was part of a bank-breaking all-rounder’s set in which his England team-mate Sam Curran became the most expensive player with INR 18.5 crores signing by Punjab Kings while Mumbai Indians got Australia’s Cameron Green at a price of INR 17.5 crores.

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