Even though he has injury issues, England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who helped his country win two major ICC trophies in a short period of time, is fully committed to playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year. However, he may not play in England’s ICC World Cup title defense.

The England Test captain decided to step down from the 50-over format in July 2022 because he was having trouble keeping up with the demands of playing in all three formats. When the chief of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) attempted to persuade Stokes to return to his retirement, the all-rounder reportedly left.

In the 2019 ICC World Cup final at Lord’s, Ben Stokes scored an unbeaten 84 to bring his team level with New Zealand’s score of 241

This drove the match into the really finished and in the long run prompted Britain winning their most memorable ICC World Cup crown. Throughout that tournament, Stokes was in top form, scoring a lot of points against Sri Lanka, Australia, and India. After that, he helped England win a second world title when they beat Pakistan in the ICC World T20 final in Melbourne last year. With a score of unbeaten 52 off of 49 balls, Stokes contributed.

Even though Stokes had played the last of his 105 ODIs against South Africa in July of last year, his performance in the ICC World T20 showed that even in limited-over formats, he can still make a difference.

After England’s victory in the ICC World T20, white-ball coach Matthew Mott said that he would love to see the big all-rounder back in the team for their big ICC World Cup defense in India.

“Absolutely. I did say you could always unretire. It will be a decision that’s up to him,”

Mott said, according to an iNews report.

“The door is always open for a player of that quality but we are also very aware that his main focus is red-ball cricket as the captain,”

Mott said during England’s ODI series against South Africa earlier this year, according to an Indian Express report.

After that, Mott had contacted Stokes a few times, but he found him to be “non-committal.” The all-rounder, on the other hand, has been given a deadline by the England white-ball coach to decide.

“The issue about if he wants to play, we don’t need to know for a while. Halfway through that summer, gauging how he is feeling physically and mentally that will be his call if he wants to put himself up for selection.”

Mott said. 

Stokes has been having problems with his knee, which has made it hard for him to play in the Test against New Zealand last month. However, he is aware that coming out of ODI retirement and playing the ICC World Cup and ODI matches prior to that may put him in danger of missing the marquee Test series against India early next year, even though he has played down fears that his participation in the IPL will jeopardize his chances of playing in the Ashes (June 16 to July 31). Stokes would like to build on his legacy by performing well as a player and captain in the series in India.

At the IPL mini-auction in December of last year, Stokes was purchased by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping Rs 16.25 crore. Stokes is a key member of Chennai Super Kings.

“I’m going to the IPL. I’ve had conversations with ‘Flem’ and he’s fully aware of the situation with my body,”

he had said earlier this year, according to a report in the DailyMail.

CSK are confident of Stokes’ services for the entire duration of the IPL this year. 

“Before the auction, the BCCI had conveyed to us that the English players will be available for the entire IPL,”

said CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan.