"They will not be able to do the hand-holding" - Aakash Chopra on whether CSK can earmark Ben Stokes as the next captain if he leaves IPL 2023 early

Aakash Chopra feels Ben Stokes' plans to leave IPL 2023 early could be a spanner in the works for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) if they see him as their next captain.

CSK bought Stokes for a whopping ₹16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. The England Test skipper recently said that he intends to return home early to prepare for their one-off Test against Ireland and the subsequent five-match Ashes against arch-rivals Australia.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Stokes' decision might leave CSK in a quandary, elaborating:

"Some people were saying that the Chennai Super Kings gave so much money to Ben Stokes because they want to groom him for captaincy. If you want to groom him for captaincy and the heir apparent leaves in the last phase, even if Chennai have made up their mind, they will not be able to do the hand-holding."

The former Indian opener added that MS Dhoni won't be able to hand over the captaincy reins to Stokes towards the latter stages of the tournament even if he intends to do so, observing:

"As they say pass on the baton - how will that happen because MS Dhoni will be captaining and halfway through if he says that he will give it to Stokes, he is not going to be available in the end. So that cannot happen."

However, Chopra did acknowledge that changing the captain in the middle of the tournament is not a wise call in any case. He pointed out that Dhoni taking over the captaincy from Ravindra Jadeja last season did not yield the desired results.

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"It will be interesting to see Chennai's plan" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's future captaincy options

CSK have previously said that they are looking at Ruturaj Gaikwad as a future captain.

Chopra is also unsure whether the Chennai-based franchise will look at Stokes as their next captain or want to go elsewhere, saying:

"It will be interesting to see Chennai's plan - does he (Stokes) even feature in their captaincy scheme of things or whether either Moeen Ali or Ruturaj Gaikwad could be their next captain? We shall find out."

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Stokes' call might make franchises wary of having too many England and Australian players in their squad when the Ashes are supposed to be played on English soil, stating:

"This will be in everyone's mind that you have to be a little careful with the money you invest in England and Australian players in an Ashes year - how you distribute your resources because there are chances of them leaving."

On the flip side, Chopra pointed out that there is a piece of positive news for CSK. He highlighted that Deepak Chahar has recovered from his injury and is ready to ply his trade in the upcoming season of the IPL.