Ben Stokes: England Test captain to skip 2024 Indian Premier League to manage fitness and workload
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All-rounder Ben Stokes was bought by Chennai Super Kings for the 2023 IPL for £1.63m
England Test captain Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for the 2024 Indian Premier League in order to manage his workload and fitness.
All-rounder Stokes, 32, is due to have knee surgery before England's five-match Test series in India next year.
Stokes was Chennai Super Kings' most expensive signing for the 2023 IPL but played just twice due to injury issues.
A statement from CSK said their "management is supportive" of Stokes' "decision to manage his workload".
Stokes scored only 15 runs and bowled one over for 18 runs in his two appearances for the Super Kings in the 2023 competition.
The dates for the 2024 edition of the IPL have yet to be confirmed but the T20 tournament is expected to take place from the end of March through to the end of May.
Stokes has been hampered by a persistent knee issue throughout recent years, although he declined to reveal more about the exact nature of the injury or the operation when asked about it during the World Cup earlier this month.
He made a shock u-turn on his one-day international retirement to play in England's World Cup defence and after doing so said he had a "very good plan in place" to fix the injury problem.
Stokes has not bowled since 1 July - day four of the second Ashes Test at Lord's - which has left England with difficulties balancing their Test and 50-over teams.
England's Test series with India is due to begin on 25 January in Hyderabad.
Other players might decide to follow suit - analysis
BBC chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt
This isn't a huge surprise. Stokes joined Chennai for a whopping £1.63m price tag in late 2022, but only played two games as Super Kings won the IPL this year.
Even though Stokes is having surgery to hopefully ease the pain in his troublesome knee, there are fitness concerns from both parties: Stokes for his workload, CSK for having on their books an expensive overseas player that they might not be able to fully utilise.
This is also a unique period for multi-format England players, given the lengthy amount of time they could be required to spend in India. The World Cup, followed by five Tests from January, then the IPL, might mean six months in India between October and May. As well as Stokes, the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook and Mark Wood might decide that is too much.
For any English player at the IPL, there will be a clash with home internationals against Pakistan in May that will form the final preparations for the T20 World Cup in June. After such an awful 50-over World Cup, it will be interesting to see how Rob Key manages those players in the build-up to the defence of the title in the Caribbean and USA.
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