After a humiliating 434-run loss in Rajkot, it looks like England skipper Ben Stokes may have started to contemplate bowling himself once again. Suffering from a knee injury, Stokes had undergone surgery in November last year.
After his surgery, the star all-rounder was under the threat of missing the India vs England Test series and had already pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. According to Ben Stokes, he wasn’t cleared to have a bowl for the next six months.
However, this changed after the first Test in Hyderabad. After reaching Vizag for the second Test, Stokes was seen bowling in the nets. The right-arm pacer hasn’t bowled since June 2023 and confirmed that he’ll be training ‘minimally’.
Speaking on seeing Ben Stokes have a bowl in Ranchi, their head coach, Brendon McCullum said:
“It’s good he’s actually getting into a state where he thinks he might bowl,” highlighting Stokes’ quick recovery from his knee surgery.
“Ben is clever. He won’t bowl unless he thinks he’s legitimately able to. We’ll see what unfolds,” said while not ruling out the chance of seeing the skipper change the game with the ball as well.