T20 World Cup: England Cricket Team suffered a huge blow as star all-rounder Ben Stokes has pulled out of the T20 World Cup. England, who are the defending champions following their victory in the 2022 edition against Pakistan, will now have to navigate the tournament without Stokes’ invaluable contributions. According to reports, Stokes communicated to the England management his decision to opt out of consideration for the T20 showpiece event scheduled to take place in the West Indies and the USA from June 2 onwards.
T20 World Cup: Reason Why Ben Stokes Made This Decision
Ben Stokes made a sensational return to England’s squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup, emerging from ODI retirement to participate in cricket’s premier event.
However, the 32-year-old was limited to appearing in only six of England’s nine matches during the campaign due to knee-related issues, which restricted his role to that of a specialist batsman.
Following the World Cup, Stokes opted to undergo knee surgery and subsequently made a comeback during England’s five-test match series against hosts India earlier this year.
Stokes communicated his decision to the England Cricket Board (ECB) earlier this Tuesday. In his statement, he explained that he withdrew from the T20 World Cup and IPL to prolong his cricketing career as an all-rounder.
“I’m working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an allrounder in all formats of cricket,” Stokes revealed to ECB on Tuesday.”
“Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the allrounder 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 [Matthew Mott] and all the team the best of luck in defending our title,” Stokes added.
Stokes’ Likely Replacement
The player who could potentially fill Ben Stokes’ no. 4 position is Liam Livingstone, who occupied that role during the 5-match T20I series against West Indies. Surrey all-rounder Jamie Overton is also in contention.
