London: England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who became the highest paid overseas player in the Indian Premier League auction on Monday, is excited about sharing the dressing room with Steve Smith and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his maiden stint in the competition.

England players landed lucrative deals at the auction with Stokes bagging the biggest of them all after being bought for Rs 14.5 crore by Rising Pune Supergiants.

"I am really looking forward to playing with MS Dhoni and Steve Smith. It will be great to share the dressing room with both these players. Dhoni is one of the biggest players in the world and Smith too is one of the best.

"While I have had some heated moments against Smith, I'm really looking forward to play alongside him. He is an amazing player," Stokes said in a Facebook chat on his official page.

The all-rounder had a good last year and was impressive during the recent series in India even though England lost the Test, ODI and T20I series.

"Pune is one of my favourite grounds. I had a great time during the ODI series against India and I am looking forward to coming back to this venue."

Stokes also made it clear that he will be available for most of IPL X. "I might miss only the last group game. I will play the most of it. I will probably play the full season.

"I am looking forward to playing plenty of T20 cricket, something we don't get to do as England players," he said.

Stokes, meanwhile, will miss England's two-match ODI series against Ireland because of his Rising Pune commitments. Mumbai Indians' Buttler and Kolkata Knight Riders' Chris Woakes will also be available for the entire league stage and will only return post May 14, according to a report in a cricket-specific website.

However, Morgan (KXIP), Jason Roy (Gujarat Lions) and Sam Billings (Delhi Daredevils) will be returning after the matches slotted for April get over. (Agencies)