Captain Ben Stokes has revealed that he chose not to participate in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction in Jeddah to extend his England career. Stokes had previously played for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL, and was named the most valuable player of the tournament in 2017. Stokes was a notable omission from the list of England players in the auction, and under new rules, if he had pulled out after being acquired by a team in the mega auction, provided it was for legitimate reasons, he would not have been eligible to participate in the next two seasons of the competition.
“(There is) just so much cricket. There’s no hiding behind the fact that I’m at the back-end of my career. I obviously want to play as long as I possibly can. Looking after my body and looking after myself as much as I can is key to that.
“(It is about) prioritising games and when I do play – obviously I’m in South Africa this year – so it’s about looking at what I’ve got ahead and making the decision that I think is right for me to be able to prolong my career as long as possible. I want to wear this England shirt for as long as I can,” said Stokes to BBC Sport ahead of England’s Test series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch.
For the upcoming match, England have handed debut to left-hander Jacob Bethell, who will bat at number three. The side currently sits at sixth place in the ongoing World Test Championship points table and are out of contention for reaching the final, to be held at Lord’s next year.
“If you saw that pitch in England, you’d be praying to God that you won the toss and could bowl first. It’s amazing in New Zealand. You can look at a wicket and it plays completely different to what it looks like. We’ll have to see how we go tomorrow, see what conditions we’re faced with as the game goes further, and if we need to adapt to anything we’ll try to do that.
“The World Test Championship is a bit confusing. I don’t look at it. Over a long period of time, if you’re playing really good cricket, you’re getting results that you want, you’ll end up finding yourself in the final and in the mix.
“For me and this team it’s about taking it game by game, series by series, and if you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in the final, then it’s great. I can’t really ever remember if I’ve ever given any real time specifically to thinking about the World Test Championship,” concluded Stokes.
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