Is Ben Stokes the most overrated cricketer currently? Deep dive into his stats

[Sin Nombre]

Overrated =/= crap.


Where I think he is currently rated at?

He is currently rated as an undisputed part of the best xi of the year, certainly in tests and also by some in ODIs. Part of the test xi both by ICC and cricinfo, and part of the ODI xi by cricinfo.

Considered a world class A/R, one who can be selected both as a pure batsman and bowler.

If you think the above is an unfair and exaggerated reflection of his abilities and performances, then we concur.


Now, we get to the statistical deep dive.

Test Batting

Ben Stokes played in 12 tests in 2016. 2 of those ended as a draw. Those were also the only 2 tests where he scored a 100.

First of those 2 was Newlands. Three players scored > 150 in the first innings and the 2 first innings totals were 629/6 and 626/7.

The second was England's first test on their India tour at Rajkot. 6 different batsmen scored a century on this flat pitch and the first 3 innings were 537, 488 and 260/3.

In the matches that were on pitches conducive to a result for either team, over 10 tests, Stokes averaged 27 with the bat with a highest score of 85.

14/17 innings, he was dismissed for less than 35.

These are numbers which you expect to see from a Vernon Philander.

Test Bowling

Again, his overall numbers look good but look at individual innings and you quickly realize most of his good performances came against the one true minnow in test cricket in BD.

Take that out and in the remaining 10 tests, he took 22 wickets at an average of 34.

Also only bowled an average of 14 overs per innings so not particularly trusted by his captain either.



Exceptional fielder, no doubt though, but as the stats show, he is a below-acceptable batsman and a below-acceptable bowler in test match cricket.

Would you pick him over a genuine bowler who can bat a bit like Philander or Starc?


ODI batting - clearly had a good year averaging 49 over 13 matches at 103 SR.

ODI bowling - clearly non-existent with 7 wickets in 13 matches @ 53.85.

Would you pick him in an ODI xi of the year as a pure batsman? No.

 

[Vivek_86]

He's a better bowler than a batsman. If you pick him as a bowling all rounder then you've a good bargain

 

[Swanny]

He's just 25 y.o. atm. Has huge potential.

 

[Aman]

Joe Root, easy.

He is mentioned along with the likes of Kohli and Smith purely on potential.

He isn't a consistent match winner and fails frequently to convert 50s into 100's (that too big 100's).

 

[Swanny]

To add he has the knack of picking up wkts in tests & the ability to counter attack in tests & odis.

 

[transitional]

He has lot of POTENTIAL

But ATM, he is a middling-to-good all rounder at best. He cannot get into the side based on only one skill yet like Ashwin, Jadeja, Kallis, Flintoff (bowling).

He is not as bad as Jason Holder, who is a truly mediocre all rounder, and should not be a certainty in the WI team.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

David Warner I reckon. Can't play 200 balls.

Coming to Stokes, he obviously has a lot of potential. He stands out because there's lack of competition so he's usually the first person on people's mind when it comes to allrounders.

 

[Protea Fan]

Joe Root, easy.

He is mentioned along with the likes of Kohli and Smith purely on potential.

He isn't a consistent match winner and fails frequently to convert 50s into 100's (that too big 100's).

How on earth root is overrated...he avg's almost 50 with 500 odd runs in india recently

Only kohli scored more than him in the entire series which is considered as one of the best series from him if not the best

Smith is great but i seriously doubt if he can score like root in next year at india so about kohli at england

Root conversion rate after 80 is pretty bad but that dosn't simply make him overrated...thats too harsh on such a quality player

 

[Protea Fan]

Stokes is not overrated...he's very inconsistent with the bat and ball

But very effective one's he keep going....this kind of cricketers are very rare nowadays so can't simply ignore

 

[JaDed]

The only person who showed some fight in India whenever he was on field,not overrated.

 

[Vivek_86]

How on earth root is overrated...he avg's almost 50 with 500 odd runs in india recently

Only kohli scored more than him in the entire series which is considered as one of the best series from him if not the best

Smith is great but i seriously doubt if he can score like root in next year at india so about kohli at england

Root conversion rate after 80 is pretty bad but that dosn't simply make him overrated...thats too harsh on such a quality player

While I don't agree with Root being mediocre, he really scored some soft runs in India. Mumbai second innings , Mohali second innings. And 4 of the tests they batted first in the friendliest of batting conditions

 

[Varun]

Scored some runs against Australia, so has been elevated to legend status in the minds of the English cricket watching public.

It's up to him not to fizzle out after 3-4 years like his compatriots: Swann, Trott, Flintoff, etc.

 

[Protea Fan]

While I don't agree with Root being mediocre, he really scored some soft runs in India. Mumbai second innings , Mohali second innings. And 4 of the tests they batted first in the friendliest of batting conditions

Still he's the best english batsman...even kohli pujara scored runs at the same wickets against some cluless english bowlers which is considered great

I saw roots most inngs yes he never looked flawless as he used to be

but those runs too counts moreover all these came against some good bowlers who were great at their home

He's the guy who avg almost 50 with 1000 odd runs at asia in the shot span....thats some great numbers for an overseas player....he will become more better time will tell

 

[Vivek_86]

Still he's the best english batsman...even kohli pujara scored runs at the same wickets against some cluless english bowlers which is considered great

I saw roots most inngs yes he never looked flawless as he used to be

but those runs too counts moreover all these came against some good bowlers who were great at their home

He's the guy who avg almost 50 with 1000 odd runs at asia in the shot span....thats some great numbers for an overseas player....he will become more better time will tell

He is an average player of spin. Saw it in Bangladesh and also in Mumbai. In Mumbai he was trying to hit his way out of trouble. He had close shaves. I would say bordering on reckless. As for Pujara and Kohli ,they don't need this series to prove their capabilities against spin.

 

[Sin Nombre]

He's a better bowler than a batsman. If you pick him as a bowling all rounder then you've a good bargain

In tests probably but Cook doesn't trust his bowling enough. He is a very poor LOI bowler.

Why is he such a guaranteed pick over a Philander in a world xi who actually is a genuine bowling superstar and bats about as well when the going is tough. You miss out on some easy runs on flat tracks but that's what your first 6 are for.

 

[Sin Nombre]

The only person who showed some fight in India whenever he was on field,not overrated.

That would be Broad, who is also probably the one underrated player from the English team.

 

[Chrish]

stats aren't everything and game isn't played on spreadsheet..

australia would kill to have an all-rounder like him in their squad right now..

 

[JaDed]

That would be Broad, who is also probably the one underrated player from the English team.

He is not underrated but he is injury prone ,Stokes was surprisingly good in the Indian tour but tbf its hard to be consistent in India for English that too for 5 tests.

 

[Vivek_86]

In tests probably but Cook doesn't trust his bowling enough. He is a very poor LOI bowler.

Why is he such a guaranteed pick over a Philander in a world xi who actually is a genuine bowling superstar and bats about as well when the going is tough. You miss out on some easy runs on flat tracks but that's what your first 6 are for.

I was talking about tests. Philander is a front line bowler whose batting is a bonus. Stokes can be a capable third or fourth seamer while being a better batsman coming at lower order

 

[Vivek_86]

Stokes is more Klusener than Kallis

 

[Sin Nombre]

I was talking about tests. Philander is a front line bowler whose batting is a bonus. Stokes can be a capable third or fourth seamer while being a better batsman coming at lower order

I am not talking about potential though but current performances.

Most team of the years have 7-11 as Stokes, Ashwin, Starc, Herath, Rabada.

Based on actual performances; Ashwin, Philander, Starc, Herath* (/Yasir/Jadeja), Rabada would be much better with a real additional bowling threat and maybe 5-10 runs lost on sporting pitches.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Stokes is more Klusener than Kallis

Think that is a good comparison; very middling in both departments.

Batting average of 19 and bowling average of 43 in the 12 tests England lost in the last couple of years.

England's problem shows up well above; too many middling players.

 

[Vivek_86]

I am not talking about potential though but current performances.

Most team of the years have 7-11 as Stokes, Ashwin, Starc, Herath, Rabada.

Based on actual performances; Ashwin, Philander, Starc, Herath* (/Yasir/Jadeja), Rabada would be much better with a real additional bowling threat and maybe 5-10 runs lost on sporting pitches.

I'm not sure ,but Philander only had the Australian tour as a positive .

 

[Aman]

How on earth root is overrated...he avg's almost 50 with 500 odd runs in india recently

Only kohli scored more than him in the entire series which is considered as one of the best series from him if not the best

Smith is great but i seriously doubt if he can score like root in next year at india so about kohli at england

Root conversion rate after 80 is pretty bad but that dosn't simply make him overrated...thats too harsh on such a quality player

Wickets for the England series weren't too difficult to bat on.

He is overrated as he very rarely plays a match winning innings. He isn't even the biggest match winner in the team atm, you could argue there are 3 more valuable players than him for England atm (Bairstow, Stokes and Moeen - none of whom are close to being the match winners Smith and Kohli are).

Pretty 80's are useless, yet he is in the same bracket as Smith and Kohli who have consistently scored big runs this year (Smith has done it for several years).

 

[R0H1T]

Wickets for the England series weren't too difficult to bat on.

He is overrated as he very rarely plays a match winning innings. He isn't even the biggest match winner in the team atm, you could argue there are 3 more valuable players than him for England atm (Bairstow, Stokes and Moeen - none of whom are close to being the match winners Smith and Kohli are).

Pretty 80's are useless, yet he is in the same bracket as Smith and Kohli who have consistently scored big runs this year (Smith has done it for several years).

He also (somehow) scores a fifty or more whenever he's played a test against us. Averages north of 70 IIRC & seems to be quite a record that, considering he's now played 11 tests vs India. He's bound to come up short in at least one of our future meetings in England &/or India.

The fact remains though that he hasn't scored too many hard grafting runs, also on proper turners (like in BD) he's been found out & doesn't have the game to survive, though not many have. In terms of his output he's second to none but the next 12 months or so (when the chips are down) will decide whether he ends up along the path of KP, or much more like Cook. He'll probably make more runs than either of them but the way he ends his career would be really interesting to see.

 

[Bilal7]

Moeen Ali is the better all-rounder.

 

[Mamoon]

He is the best all-rounder in the world and makes any playing XI.

 

[Mamoon]

David Warner I reckon. Can't play 200 balls.

Warner is overrated in Tests because he doesn't have the mental discipline to fight it out and grind runs when the conditions are not easy for batting. That is why outside Australia and South Africa, he has just one hundred in 20+ Tests.

His recent failures in Sri Lanka and at home vs South Africa show that he hasn't made any improvements on that front.

Overrated doesn't mean he is not good. Of course he is, easily the most dangerous player at the moment and is absolutely brilliant in his comfort-zone, but he is not comparable to the Big Four at the moment.

 

[Vivek_86]

He is the best all-rounder in the world and makes any playing XI.

I'm sorry ,somehow I don't believe that. He is the most celebrated one though.

 

[Mamoon]

I'm sorry ,somehow I don't believe that. He is the most celebrated one though.

There is a big dearth of all-rounders. There are bowling all-rounders and batting all-rounders, but there are few balanced all-rounders.

A lot of people will talk about Ashwin, and he has been brilliant with both bat and ball this year, but I have a bias for all-rounders who have more impact with bat/ball. Ashwin is by far the better bowler, but as the opposition, I would be more worried to see Stokes walk into the middle than Ashwin.

It is human nature for people to give all-rounders the short end of the stick. Players like Stokes have to contribute with both bat and ball every game for people to not question their credentials, because the failures of all-rounders stick more since they are more involved in the game.

Some people are writing off Mitch Marsh the same way they wrote off Stokes a year ago. He may not be as good as Stokes, but he has the potential to be a world class all-rounder and Australia needs to exercise patience.

 

[Vivek_86]

There is a big dearth of all-rounders. There are bowling all-rounders and batting all-rounders, but there are few balanced all-rounders.

A lot of people will talk about Ashwin, and he has been brilliant with both bat and ball this year, but I have a bias for all-rounders who have more impact with bat/ball. Ashwin is by far the better bowler, but as the opposition, I would be more worried to see Stokes walk into the middle than Ashwin.

It is human nature for people to give all-rounders the short end of the stick. Players like Stokes have to contribute with both bat and ball every game for people to not question their credentials, because the failures of all-rounders stick more since they are more involved in the game.

Some people are writing off Mitch Marsh the same way they wrote off Stokes a year ago. He may not be as good as Stokes, but he has the potential to be a world class all-rounder and Australia needs to exercise patience.

I rate him as a bowler. But as a batsman ,in tests ,he is hit and miss. He will have his day once in a while. But tough batsmanship is not his forte. Can't consistently trust him. For a top order batsman that is a must.

In ODIs he could be a brilliant one though.

 

[Mamoon]

I rate him as a bowler. But as a batsman ,in tests ,he is hit and miss. He will have his day once in a while. But tough batsmanship is not his forte. Can't consistently trust him. For a top order batsman that is a must.

In ODIs he could be a brilliant one though.

England is missing a proper batsman to complement Root, Cook, Hameed and Bairstow (who needs to drop the gloves). In this regard, the retirement of Taylor has been a massive blow.

The likes of Hales, Vince, Jennings, Ballance, Duckett etc. will not cut it in Test cricket. As a result, there is too much responsibility on the likes of Stokes, Moeen and Buttler, who are all fine batsmen but will never be world class batsmen in the Test format.

These utility players is a great luxury for England, but it is obvious that they are missing one or two specialists.

 

[HitWicket]

In tests probably but Cook doesn't trust his bowling enough. He is a very poor LOI bowler.

Why is he such a guaranteed pick over a Philander in a world xi who actually is a genuine bowling superstar and bats about as well when the going is tough. You miss out on some easy runs on flat tracks but that's what your first 6 are for.

Cook quite clearly trusts and rated him as the best reverse swing bowler in the side. His average overs per match this year will obviously be lower because about half his matches were in Asia where spells are usually going to be shorter with spinners bowling a much larger amount of the overs. England had 6 bowlers for a lot of the games as well.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Ben Stokes's numbers are a bit inflated this year but watching him play, you can see how incredibly talented he is. Looks like the perfect allrounder to me (potential wise).

Only time will tell how he will perform. His batting is too risk oriented imho.

I thought he was the best pace bowler from England in the Indian tour.

 

[Robert]

Stokes is the pivot of the England side. However like most young England players he has no batting plan against the spinners. Time to improve, though.

 

[Ab Fan]

He isn't overrated.

Easily the second best all rounder in the world only behind Ashwin.

His batting has been a little mess as per his level and has failed at times when mattered to stick.He is an audacious batsmen but not the one who can grind out tough phase.

His bowling has been as good as his standards.

 

[Sin Nombre]

There is a big dearth of all-rounders. There are bowling all-rounders and batting all-rounders, but there are few balanced all-rounders.

A lot of people will talk about Ashwin, and he has been brilliant with both bat and ball this year, but I have a bias for all-rounders who have more impact with bat/ball. Ashwin is by far the better bowler, but as the opposition, I would be more worried to see Stokes walk into the middle than Ashwin.

It is human nature for people to give all-rounders the short end of the stick. Players like Stokes have to contribute with both bat and ball every game for people to not question their credentials, because the failures of all-rounders stick more since they are more involved in the game.

Some people are writing off Mitch Marsh the same way they wrote off Stokes a year ago. He may not be as good as Stokes, but he has the potential to be a world class all-rounder and Australia needs to exercise patience.

List me these impactful games with bat and/or ball in the last 12 months in a period where his reputation has soared even more.

The answer is none, or maybe one against BD with the ball.

 

[Buffet]

Moeen Ali is the better all-rounder.

Hardly an all rounder. He averages 42+ as bowler.

 

[Sin Nombre]

He isn't overrated.

Easily the second best all rounder in the world only behind Ashwin.

His batting has been a little mess as per his level and has failed at times when mattered to stick.He is an audacious batsmen but not the one who can grind out tough phase.

His bowling has been as good as his standards.

Depends on what you call "all rounder".

I would always pick a world class bowler who can score a bit like Philander or Starc over someone who is average in both like Stokes in any of these best xi.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Can we get ben stokes into the Pakistani team!

I can't remember the last time we had a bowling all rounder barring azhar Mahmood


Ben stokes is a terrific performer , he just needs to convert his starts and become a little bit more consistent

 

[Abdullah719]

Depends on what you call "all rounder".

I would always pick a world class bowler who can score a bit like Philander or Starc over someone who is average in both like Stokes in any of these best xi.

You'd pick Philander or Starc as #6/7 batters?

The whole point of an all-rounder is to provide balance to a side.

Some may like to pick a bowler who can bat quite well at #7 but that doesn't usually happen.

 

[Sin Nombre]

You'd pick Philander or Starc as #6/7 batters?

The whole point of an all-rounder is to provide balance to a side.

Some may like to pick a bowler who can bat quite well at #7 but that doesn't usually happen.

6 is the wicketkeeper

Ashwin/Philander/Starc as the 7,8,9.


If any nation had 3 test class bowlers who averaged 20+ with the bat and could score tough runs, I would always go with them as 7-9 rather than shoehorning an all-rounder who is average with both.

In reality, outside of India in subcontinent/WI and SA, no one really has them so Stokes would walk into most individual nation xi but clearly not when you start looking at world xi.

 

[Mamoon]

List me these impactful games with bat and/or ball in the last 12 months in a period where his reputation has soared even more.

The answer is none, or maybe one against BD with the ball.

250 in SA, some good knocks in the UAE and India. Hardly played vs Pakistan at home. Won England a match in Bangladesh. Think that is enough evidence for a young all-rounder who is yet to hit his peak.

No all-rounder has shown more potential. He is ahead of Anderson, Neesham, Marsh etc. Ashwin can be considered better but he is a different type of all-rounder.

 

[Sin Nombre]

250 in SA, some good knocks in the UAE and India. Hardly played vs Pakistan at home. Won England a match in Bangladesh. Think that is enough evidence for a young all-rounder who is yet to hit his peak.

No all-rounder has shown more potential. He is ahead of Anderson, Neesham, Marsh etc. Ashwin can be considered better but he is a different type of all-rounder.

That 250 was on a pitch where the teams combined for 1300 runs for 13 wickets. Not particularly impactful.

He is very young and has certainly shown potential and could develop into the player that people think he is now.

 

[street cricketer]

Yet to be convinced by Stokes' batting.

Telling that his two great knocks this year came on two roads in Jo'burg and Rajkot.

 

[street cricketer]

He's not bad by any means, but just don't think he's good enough to be playing as a specialist batsman in the top 5, which he does for England more often than not.

 

[Abdullah719]

6 is the wicketkeeper

Ashwin/Philander/Starc as the 7,8,9.


If any nation had 3 test class bowlers who averaged 20+ with the bat and could score tough runs, I would always go with them as 7-9 rather than shoehorning an all-rounder who is average with both.

In reality, outside of India in subcontinent/WI and SA, no one really has them so Stokes would walk into most individual nation xi but clearly not when you start looking at world xi.

OK, that's fair enough for best XI lineups.

 

[The_KING]

He is the all rounder that Pakistan have been missing for a long time. I say he has the potential to be world class. Atm, he is a very good bowler but a bit like Afridi with the bat. If he can improve his batting and become more consistent, he is world class for me.

 

[Ab Fan]

Depends on what you call "all rounder".

I would always pick a world class bowler who can score a bit like Philander or Starc over someone who is average in both like Stokes in any of these best xi.

Well, it depends on requirement of a team.

I can play Stokes as a fifth bowler and make him bat at 6.

I can't bat Starc or Philander at anything less than 8.Yes, they can be my premier bowler which Stokes isn't but they will be considered in the team only as premier bowler. Their batting isn't enough to make them play at 6-7. Ashwin somehow makes the cut as he has shown with the performance. So he can be considered as a genuine allrounder.

As someone already said we pick all rounders to create balance to the side so it's all about the requirement of the team.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Well, it depends on requirement of a team.

I can play Stokes as a fifth bowler and make him bat at 6.

Then you have more of these batting collapses and the 7 defeats in 10 that England have suffered.

 

[Bilal7]

Hardly an all rounder. He averages 42+ as bowler.

Umesh, Ishant, Rahat and Sohail all average close to 40 as well and they are specialist bowlers. Moeen is arguably the best spinner in England, definitely the best off-spinner and that, coupled with him being one of the best batsmen in the country, makes him a top all-rounder.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

He has lot of POTENTIAL

But ATM, he is a middling-to-good all rounder at best. He cannot get into the side based on only one skill yet like Ashwin, Jadeja, Kallis, Flintoff (bowling).

He is not as bad as Jason Holder, who is a truly mediocre all rounder, and should not be a certainty in the WI team.

Ashwin, Jadeja are basically useless batsmen in ODIs nowadays, in fact less useful than Stokes bowling is.

What is more this "deep dive" didn't even give us his Economy as a bowler which is more important than average. If he can bowl 10 overs at 5 that's great and no more needed.

Also, more importantly EVERYONE will have awful stats if you selectively chop out all the matches where they did well under some pretext. Let's see what these can be.

Opponent was weak (Bangladesh) although it was away and series was level. Pitch was flat (funny how this is a reason to omit batting performance, but not bowling performance isn't it?), Games were played at home, "he only had one good series, let's look at his data otherwise"

All this approach is intellectually dishonest attempt to cherry-pick cases where the player did not perform.

 

[Bilal7]

Intellectual dishonesty is the word(s) of the month at Pakpassion.

 

[street cricketer]

Intellectual dishonesty is the word(s) of the month at Pakpassion.

Lmao same thoughts.

Heard the word for the first time a week back here and everybody's been using it left and right lmao.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Ashwin, Jadeja are basically useless batsmen in ODIs nowadays, in fact less useful than Stokes bowling is.

What is more this "deep dive" didn't even give us his Economy as a bowler which is more important than average. If he can bowl 10 overs at 5 that's great and no more needed.

Also, more importantly EVERYONE will have awful stats if you selectively chop out all the matches where they did well under some pretext. Let's see what these can be.

Opponent was weak (Bangladesh) although it was away and series was level. Pitch was flat (funny how this is a reason to omit batting performance, but not bowling performance isn't it?), Games were played at home, "he only had one good series, let's look at his data otherwise"

All this approach is intellectually dishonest attempt to cherry-pick cases where the player did not perform.

Where did Ashwin/Jadeja in ODIs come from?

The deep dive was mostly about test match cricket as is evident, maybe if you want to talk about ODIs in more detail, you can actually do some work rather than whining about it.

Test match cricket is about impact.

If scoring runs on flat pitches and collapsing on sporting tracks is what you expect from your batsmen, good luck to you.

Unfortunately, others like to set higher standards from supposed world xi class all-rounders.

 

[Pantani]

Scored some runs against Australia, so has been elevated to legend status in the minds of the English cricket watching public.

It's up to him not to fizzle out after 3-4 years like his compatriots: Swann, Trott, Flintoff, etc.

Do you think that might have something to do with how many tests England play? Last year they got 17, so as a conservative estimate that in 3-4 years it will be at least 50 tests, which is a pretty decent amount to call your test career. It could take 6 years for a player from another team to play the same number that a key member of the England team would play in 3 or 4 years.

Moeen Ali hasn't even completed 3 years in test cricket yet and he's already played 37 tests. Perhaps decent England players have shorter spans of good performance across many years because they play so many tests annually.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Is Sachin Tendulkar the most over-rated player in the history of cricket?

Out of his 680 international games, he's scored 100 only in 100 of them. He's reached double figures or less in 580 of them! So if you remove his 100's, his average drops to xx.

Would you pick him in an ATG xi as a pure batsman? Hell no!

 

[Sin Nombre]

Some people are clearly not smart enough to be so easily fooled by English media narratives.

 

[Varun]

Do you think that might have something to do with how many tests England play? Last year they got 17, so as a conservative estimate that in 3-4 years it will be at least 50 tests, which is a pretty decent amount to call your test career. It could take 6 years for a player from another team to play the same number that a key member of the England team would play in 3 or 4 years.

Moeen Ali hasn't even completed 3 years in test cricket yet and he's already played 37 tests. Perhaps decent England players have shorter spans of good performance across many years because they play so many tests annually.

A fair point. But when you consider only a scant few from other countries combust and go from being at the top of their game to zero within 6-12 months, you have to say it is more or less England specific. The likes of India, Australia and even South Africa play their fare share of cticket - across all formats too.

 

[SL_Fan]

IPL auction: Ben Stokes sets record as highest-paid international player

England all-rounder Ben Stokes will earn £1.7m for playing in the Indian Premier League after being signed by the Rising Pune Supergiants.

The 25-year-old, recently named England’s Test vice-captain, becomes the highest paid international player as he takes part in the competition for the first time. Stokes, who may not be available for the end of the tournament due to international commitments, was bought for 14.5 crore in the first round of the auction. The highest fee in IPL history was Yuvraj Singh, who was bought for 16 crore (£1.9m) by Delhi Daredevils in 2015.

Pune owner Sanjiv Goenka told reporters Stokes would bring something new to the team for the 10th edition of the tournament. “He’s a complete player and he completes our squad. We’ve been lacking this one genre of player,” he said. “We knew he was going to be there for the first 14 games … We pretty much knew we were not going to get him for below this price.”

England T20 specialist Tymal Mills later earned a lucrative deal of his own as he was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4m. The left-arm quick – who does not play any longer forms of the game due to back problems and is available for the entire tournament – will team up with India captain Virat Kohli in Bangalore.

Kolkata Knight Riders held off Hyderabad to snap up all-rounder Chris Woakes in a deal worth £506,583. And elsewhere in the first round, England T20 skipper Eoin Morgan went to Kings XI Punjab for £240,271 while international team-mates Jason Roy, Alex Hales and Chris Jordan all went unsold.

Link

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Waste of money.

 

[Ab Fan]

An overrated batsmen..

An underrated test bowler. I was impressed by his bowling in India.

He was potrayed as a batsmen more than bowler.

But he has underachieved with his batting while he has done what was expected from him with the ball. If he improves his batting, he can be the world's best all rounder.

Referring to tests only.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

For LOI he is a good bat but a leaky bowler.

Ridiculous to spend so much on him.

 

[ayemgilani86]

avgs can be deceptive, umar akmal fans defend his avg of 38, inzi and anwar avgd 39-40. Do you think akmal is in the same class as them
Stokes is an excellent player, best pace bowling allrounder since flintoff

 

[Slog]

avgs can be deceptive, umar akmal fans defend his avg of 38, inzi and anwar avgd 39-40. Do you think akmal is in the same class as them
Stokes is an excellent player, best pace bowling allrounder since flintoff

which alternate universe does akmal jr average 38 in?

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

which alternate universe does akmal jr average 38 in?

He used to at one point of time.

Avg of 37-38 odd.

 

[Hawkeye]

I remember the thrashing Misbah gave to Stokes.

He might have some utility, but grossly overrated by some.

The team that bought him are going to regret this forever hahaha . I have no idea who clueless was advising them.

 

[wasimjunior]

I remember the thrashing Misbah gave to Stokes.

He might have some utility, but grossly overrated by some.

The team that bought him are going to regret this forever hahaha . I have no idea who clueless was advising them.

Insane waste of money.

 

[Hawkeye]

Insane waste of money.

What's shocking is players like Rabada going for half the price of Ben.

Perhaps it depends on how much you're able to "lobby" with contacts and PR agencies.

 

[JaDed]

Waste of money also won't he leave early for Eng vs SA? Just taken based on hype. Why is money being wasted on English players only Morgan has been consistent player in IPL everyone else just gives it a miss after being allocated.
Ideally should had gone for any Irish(if playing the entire season) player instead.

 

[JaDed]

What's shocking is players like Rabada going for half the price of Ben.

Perhaps it depends on how much you're able to "lobby" with contacts and PR agencies.

Stokes was defn taken for his hitting,Rabada "might" add value only as a bowler also would probably leave midway for the test tour.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Waste of money also won't he leave early for Eng vs SA? Just taken based on hype. Why is money being wasted on English players only Morgan has been consistent player in IPL everyone else just gives it a miss after being allocated.
Ideally should had gone for any Irish(if playing the entire season) player instead.

They are paid on a pro-rated basis.

 

[JaDed]

They are paid on a pro-rated basis.

Yup,but imagine changing the team when he leaves ,creates the combination issues and usually IPL teams suffer when that happens.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Yup,but imagine changing the team when he leaves ,creates the combination issues and usually IPL teams suffer when that happens.

Rising Pune Supergiants should rename themselves as Rising Supergiant Losers.

 

[JaDed]

Rising Pune Supergiants should rename themselves as Rising Supergiant Losers.

With Smith as their captain ) IPL is assuming all Aussies make for great captain.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

With Smith as their captain ) IPL is assuming all Aussies make for great captain.

Faf wasn't chosen as captain.

These billionaires and their so called strategists are hilarious.

Let's hope next year CSK buys Raina, Ashwin, Vijay, Dwayne Smith back and make it real CSK.

 

[Mamoon]

He is the best all-rounder in the world and one of the most high-profile cricketers these days. Fully deserves this.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

He is a brilliant test player but has terrible stats in T20I's

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

He is the best all-rounder in the world and one of the most high-profile cricketers these days. Fully deserves this.

Curious question:

If you were franchise owner, would you shell out 14 crores for Stokes by going all out?

His domestic T20 economy is 8.6 and T20I economy is 9.03. These are his averages. When he gets carted, it gets ugly.

Batting wise, he averages 22 in domestic T20s and 14 in T20I.

As for the wickets column, Stokes has picked up 32 wickets in 77 domestic T20 games and 10 wickets in 21 T20Is.

 

[Cosmic]

Is he getting this money for 1 season...so it's chandi chandi for him...