Why is Ben Stokes not playing today’s IPL 2023 match vs MI?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the ongoing clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing IPL 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, April 8.

According to The Indian Express, the 31-year-old suffered pain in his heel after a training session on the eve of the game. He has been advised to have a minimum of 10 days of rest.

Speaking at the toss, CSK captain MS Dhoni, who won the toss, confirmed that Stokes has an injury. He said:

“[Ben] Stokes has an injury, Mo [Moeen Ali] is not available. Ajinkya and Pretorius are playing. These are the two changes we have made.”

For the uninitiated, CSK bought Stokes for a whopping price of ₹16.25 crore for IPL 2023. The southpaw, though, has so far failed to impress in the cash-rich league, scoring seven runs against the Gujarat Titans (GT) and eight runs versus the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He also bowled only one over against LSG, giving away 18 runs.

England all-rounders Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali were replaced by Dwaine Pretorius and Ajinkya Rahane in the starting XI.

In Stokes’ absence, Rahane will have to deliver with the bat. CSK bought him for ₹50 lakh at the IPL 2023 mini-auction. The Mumbai batter has amassed 4074 runs in 158 IPL games, including two tons and 28 half-centuries.

Pretorius, on the other hand, scalped six wickets in as many games for CSK last year. The right-handed batter is also a handy lower-order batter.

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Ben Stokes’ Chennai Super Kings opt to bowl against Mumbai Indians

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bowl first against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday.

The four-time IPL champions picked debutante Sisanda Magala (replacing Rajvardahan Hangargekar), Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, and Devon Conway as their four overseas foreign players.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Co. included Cameron Green, Tim David, and Tristan Stubbs as their first three foreign players, while Jofra Archer’s absence made way for Jason Behrendorff.

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (w), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Tristan Stubbs, Arshad Khan, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, and Jason Behrendorff.

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (w/c), Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, Sisanda Magala, and Tushar Deshpande.

Follow MI vs CSK live score updates here.