In what comes as a shocking news, England skipper Ben Stokes has opted out of the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin on June 2, in the West Indies & the USA. “I’m working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an all-rounder in all formats of cricket,” Stokes said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future. The recent Test tour of India highlighted how far behind I was from a bowling point of view after my knee surgery and nine months without bowling. I’m looking forward to playing for Durham in the County Championship before the start of our Test summer.
“I wish Jos (Buttler), Motty (white-ball coach Matthew Mott) and all the team the best of luck in defending our title.”
T20 World Cup
Writing Was on the Wall for Ben Stokes
Stokes had opted out of the IPL 2024 as well, due to his lingering issues. In fact, last year, he managed to play only two matches for CSK in IPL 2023, due to fitness issues. He underwent a knee surgery for the same as well. All this after he was bagged for 16.25 crore by the Chennai side.
Stokes Didn’t Bowl Much During IND vs ENG Series
During the entire IND vs ENG Test series earlier this year, Stokes didn’t bowl much. It was only in the last Test at Dharamsala that he bowled for the first time, and also bagged a wicket. He went on to bag Rohit Sharma’s wicket, and returned with figures of 1/17 in the match, with the ball.
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