England all-rounder Ben Stokes to skip 2024 IPL season with Chennai Super Kings to 'manage workload and fitness'

Updated 23/11/2023 at 17:56 GMT

England Test captain Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024 season to manage his workload and focus on his fitness levels. The franchise said they remain "supportive" of Stokes. The 32-year-old will miss England's white-ball tour of the West Indies in December, but hopes to feature in the five-Test series in India in January.

Ben Stokes of Chennai Super Kings looks on prior to the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on April 27, 2023 in Jaipur, India.

Image credit: Getty Images

Ben Stokes will not feature in the 2024 Indian Premier League season, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have confirmed in a statement.

Earlier this month, the 32-year-old confirmed that he planned to undergo knee surgery after the Cricket World Cup which will see him miss England's white-ball tour of the West Indies in December.

Stokes recently said he has his sights set on returning from surgery to feature for England's five-Test series in India starting on January 25.

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However, the all-rounder will miss the upcoming campaign for CSK and the franchise announced that they are supportive of the player's decision.

"England Test captain, all-rounder Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness," the franchise said in a statement on Thursday.

"Stokes, 32, became a part of the Super Kings ahead of the successful IPL 2023. He recently participated in the ODI World Cup 2023, which he came out of retirement for."

"The Chennai Super Kings management is supportive of Ben in his decision to manage his workload with England playing a 5-Test series in India before the IPL and then the T20 World Cup in June 2024."

Stokes has been unable to make an impact so far with CSK since joining them at the start of the 2023 season. He has only featured in two games, scored 15 runs and only bowled one over.

Despite the absence of the England star, CSK secured a record fifth IPL title last season by beating Gujarat Titans in the final.

Stokes also missed England's opening three matches at the World Cup and his absence was felt by the team as they slipped to two defeats in those games.

England arrived in India as the reigning champions but underperformed and failed to defend their crown after being eliminated from the group stages after picking up three wins from nine matches.

England director of cricket Rob Key said he needed to hold himself "accountable" for England's disappointing World Cup campaign after finishing seventh out of the 10 competing teams.

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