IPL 2023: ‘The fact that he can’t bowl puts him under more pressure’, says Michael Vaughan on Stokes playing as pure batter for CSK

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has opined that there will be significant pressure on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ben Stokes to perform with the bat since he is unlikely to bowl in the initial stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Prior to the commencement of the league, CSK batting coach Mike Hussey has confirmed that the England Test captain, who has had issues with his knee in the recent past, will go purely as a batsman from the start and he won’t be bowling much at all in the first few games of the tournament.

“I think Ben Stokes, with his knee problem and the fact that he can’t bowl and he’s now just in there as a batter, almost puts him under a bit more pressure. Not that he can’t cope with pressure, he is probably the best I’ve seen in an England shirt dealing with pressure,” Vaughan said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

“But when you’re an all-rounder and then you’re just a batter and you’re just getting your fee for scoring runs, it just adds that little bit more pressure,” he added.

The English all-rounder looked a bit off-coloured during the tournament opener against Gujarat Giants as he mustered just seven runs off six deliveries before getting caught out off leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s bowling.

“When you can bowl two or four overs and just contribute, he is that kind of a character who just wants to contribute all the time. He’s going to get his mentality of just being a batter sorted. He just looked a little bit rusty the other day,” Vaughan said.

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