ipl-2017

Updated: Mar 31, 2017 11:58 IST

England’s Test cricket team skipper Joe Root on Thursday asked all-rounder Ben Stokes, who will play under the captaincy of Steve Smith in the Indian Premier League franchise Rising Pune Supergiants, to find the weakness of his new skipper so that they can beat Australia in the Ashes series later in the year. 

Joe Root tells Michael Vaugahan about his captaincy interview including his fashion choice and that of teammate, Ben Stokes.  pic.twitter.com/BZxGGy6Lm6 — BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) March 27, 2017

Ben Stokes, who was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 14.50 crore during last month’s auction, will be making his IPL debut this year. 

“Smith has become one of the best players in the world.  In fact, he is ranked as the best player in the world and is just racking up the runs for fun,” Joe Root was quoted as saying by Dailystar.co.uk. 

England's Chris Woakes (R), Jos Buttler (2R), Ben Stokes (2L) and Joe Root celebrate the dismissal of India's K.L. Rahul during the second One Day International in Cuttack on January 19, 2017. (  AFP )

“So the one thing Stokesy can do for us is make sure he finds a little weakness in Steve Smith’s armoury for us when we go down to Australia, if he can,” he added. 

Stoked to have you Stokesy!  📣 pic.twitter.com/LjYveiTZKf — RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) March 30, 2017

Ashes in November

Australia will host England in the Ashes series starting from November 23. 

Joe Root also said that this cash-rich IPL will help English cricketers to improve their game. 

“It is great to see a number of English guys getting that exposure to fantastic ex-players and coaches as well as some of the best players in the world,” Root said. 

“Hopefully, they come back better for it and I’m sure they’ll gain confidence from being out there and playing in front of some big crowds,” he added.