"Not going to rush myself to bowl in IPL"- Ben Stokes on his priority to be fourth English seamer in Ashes 2023

The four-time champion Chennai Super Kings made headlines when they picked English Test skipper and star all-rounder Ben Stokes for a whopping price of INR 15.25 crore. The Chennai-based franchise broke their bank with him and made him the costliest player ever purchased by CSK in the IPL's history.

But the performance of the all-rounder hasn't been that great so far, and he is unable to make any big impact for the team. CSK has played three games so far, winning two against LSG and MI while losing one against GT.

Stokes missed the last game against MI at the Wankhede Stadium but was part of the first two games. He made just 7 runs against Gujarat Titans and didn't bowl, and then against Lucknow Super Giants, he got out for another low score of 8 runs and bowled one over, which went for 18 runs.

Although some media reports confirmed ahead of the start of the 16th edition that Stokes will play as batter in the team in the first half of the season. Meanwhile, in a recent interaction on Star Sports, the all-rounder himself revealed that he is not looking to rush himself.

He said, "Being able to bowl pain-free, touch wood, has been good. I went for 18 runs, but I was like 'oh I managed to bowl an over without pain in my knee. Going nicely (recovery from knee injury). But I'm not going to rush myself, the main priority is making sure I can fulfill my role as a fourth seamer in the Ashes."

CSK will play their next match on Wednesday against the inaugural season winner Rajasthan Royals at the Chepauk Stadium. Stokes is available for selection and is likely to make his comeback against his former franchise, RR. He will look to deliver some match-winning performances for the Yellow Army before going back to England for Ashes 2023, which will start on June 16 in Birmingham.