Ben Stokes

The arrival

Ben Stokes arrived through the auction: Rising Pune Supergiant paid ₹14.50 cr, against a base price of ₹2 cr.

That first season brought 12 matches, 316 runs and 12 wickets at 7.18 an over. It would stay the best season of the career with the bat.

The peak

The high point with the bat was 2017, for Rising Pune Supergiant: 316 runs at an average of 31.6, striking at 143.0 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 133.4, with 1 hundred and 1 fifty, and a highest score of 103 not out.

With the ball, the best season was 2017, for Rising Pune Supergiant: 12 wickets at 7.18 runs an over, while the league's bowlers went for 8.23, with best figures of 3 for 18.

Franchise by franchise

2017, Rising Pune Supergiant. Bought at the 2017 auction for ₹14.50 cr. 12 matches, 316 runs and 12 wickets.

2018 to 2021, Rajasthan Royals. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹12.50 cr. 31 matches, 604 runs and 16 wickets.

2023, Chennai Super Kings. Bought at the 2023 auction for ₹16.25 cr. 2 matches and 15 runs; champions in 2023.

3 spells with three franchises in all. The longest was with Rajasthan Royals, 2018 to 2021. 2022 is missing from the record: a season without an IPL appearance.

Bat, ball and method

Across the career, Ben Stokes struck at 134.5. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 134.3, so the scoring rate tracked the league's almost exactly. 55% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 81 fours and 32 sixes.

The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 33.1% of the balls Ben Stokes faced were dot balls, a lower share than 78% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 21.8 balls, and a four every 8.6.

With the ball, 28 wickets in 693 deliveries, at 8.59 runs an over against a league rate of 8.31 for the same seasons: 0.28 an over more expensive than the typical bowler of the time.

33.1% of the balls Ben Stokes bowled were dots, a lower share than 68% of the 150 bowlers with 500 balls or more; a wicket came every 24.6 balls.

The fielding record: 23 catches and 2 run-outs.

At the auction

Ben Stokes went under the hammer three times. The highest price was ₹16.25 cr, paid by Chennai Super Kings in 2023, more than 8 times the base price.

Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.

The legacy

Ben Stokes made 45 IPL appearances, the last for Chennai Super Kings in 2023, and won 5 player-of-the-match awards.