Stokes, who was Super Kings' most expensive buy ever in the auction ahead of the 2023 IPL season - INR 16.25 crore (US$ 1.98 million approx. at the time) - played just two games through the season, scoring 15 runs and bowling just the one over. This was partly because of the left-knee injury, which had forced him to start the season as a specialist batter. The injury to the knee had been a long-standing one, but 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.