Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed his support for Ben Stokes, stating that he is probably the best player he has seen in an England shirt when it comes to dealing with pressure. Vaughan believes that there will be significant pressure on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder to perform with the bat, especially since he is unlikely to bowl in the initial stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Stokes, who has had issues with his knee in the recent past, will go purely as a batsman from the start of the league and he won’t be bowling much at all in the first few games of the tournament. Vaughan acknowledged that being an all-rounder and then just a batter puts a little bit more pressure on Stokes. During the tournament opener against Gujarat Giants, Stokes looked a bit off-coloured as he mustered just seven runs off six deliveries before getting caught out off leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s bowling. Vaughan believes that Stokes is a character who just wants to contribute all the time and that he will get his mentality of just being a batter sorted.
