Ben Stokes pulls out of IPL 2024 while Gautam Gambhir returns to Kolkata Knight Riders

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has decided to withdraw from IPL 2024 in order to manage workload and fitness.

Chennai Super Kings’ Ben Stokes will not be seen playing in the Indian Premier League next season after he made himself unavailable in order to focus on workload management and fitness. It is still unclear whether CSK have decided to part ways with Stokes but the franchise put out a statement on their website where they said they were "supportive of Ben in his decision."

The five-time IPL winners made the England Test captain their most expensive purchase after securing him for a value of INR 16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. However, the coup proved to be a disappointing one as Stokes played just two matches all season and scored 15 runs while bowling just a single over.

It was partly because of a left knee injury which had required him to start the season as a specialist batter. It is a long-standing problem with the all-rounder and the issue had flared up during England's tour of New Zealand in February this year. Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings coach, had said at the time that the team would wait for Stokes to be "100% ready" before asking him to bowl.

At the end of the recently held World Cup in India, Stokes announced his decision to undergo a knee surgery, which he had been delaying for some time. The timeline of his return remains unclear.

The Indian Premier League has set November 26 as the hard deadline for franchises to announce their retentions and releases ahead of the 2024 season. In case they do not release Stokes, Super Kings will have the option of retaining him ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025. And if they release him by Sunday, Super Kings can utilise the INR 16.25 they had bought him for, in the auction next month.

As things currently stand, he is hopeful of touring India for a five-match Test series which begins in January.

"I've put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India," Stokes had said after England's last game at the World Cup.

Elsewhere, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has returned to Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor. KKR had won their two IPL titles under Gambhir’s captaincy in 2012 and 2014 and the franchise is hopeful about a change of fortunes after finishing seventh in both 2022 and 2023.

"I am not an emotional person and not many things move me. But this is different," Gambhir said in a statement. "This is back to where it all started. Today, there is a lump in my throat and fire in my heart as I think about slipping into that purple and gold jersey once again."

The Knight Riders support staff is led by head coach Chandrakant Pandit while Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), James Foster (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach), and Ryan Ten Doeschate (fielding coach) also constituting the line-up.