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The seasoned Moeen Ali has picked leading English all-rounder Ben Stokes as the front-runner to succeed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as captain of IPL heavyweights Chennai Super Kings once the Indian icon decides to step down.
Besides Stokes, Moeen also rated Ruturaj Gaikwad highly as far as leading the team in the future is concerned.
Chennai Super Kings spent a staggering Rs 16.25 crore on Stokes in the IPL 2023 players auction, indicating that the franchise is looking at the England Test captain as a potential successor to Dhoni.
"He's really enjoying himself," Moeen said of Stokes on the eve of CSK's match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
"CSK is the type of franchise where you come here and you do tend to enjoy yourself and really love playing for this franchise. He's settled in really well. He's a big part of the team with his experience," he was quoted as saying by 'ESPNcricinfo'.
Besides CSK, Stokes and Moeen also share the England dressing room.
"I think there's a chance (that Stokes succeeds Dhoni); of course there's a chance, because he's obviously done really well in Test cricket," Moeen said.
"But MS is still obviously in charge and he's going to be captain for a while. We have some other guys as well: Ruturaj is a fantastic player with a good head on his shoulders, so it depends on what the franchise wants."
World Cup-winning hero Stokes has been dealing with an injury in his left knee for a while and received cortisone injections before travelling to India for the IPL.
Stokes has so far scored just 15 runs in two innings, while also bowling an over and conceding 18 runs against Lucknow Super Giants.