England Test captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of action by a hamstring injury he sustained during The Hundred 2024. The star all-rounder, playing for the Northern Superchargers in the competition, tore his left hamstring and was ruled out of the rest of the summer. This makes him a big absence in England’s current Test series against Sri Lanka.
This injury has come at a very crucial time as England prepares for a tricky Test series against Pakistan, starting October 7 in Multan. Ben Stokes’ injury has put a question mark over his readiness for the tour of Pakistan. The England management remains optimistic about Stokes’ on-time recovery, nonetheless.
He will have very little room to breathe to do so, as the team reaches Pakistan on 2nd October. His absence or availability will be key to England’s fortunes in the bilateral series, considering that the balance of power had shifted massively in their favour with a commanding 3-0 win over Pakistan in the previous tour in 2022.
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Ben Stokes has fought for game time on the pitch through injury in recent times. During England’s last Test series against Pakistan, he bowled just 35 overs result of ongoing problems with his right knee.
So we are going to see Stokes back again!#BenStokes #Stokes #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/47MBSjwbhk
— Alter EGO | Sanju (@me_sanjureddy) August 28, 2024
Against India earlier in 2024, Ben Stokes managed a total of five overs throughout the series. His captaincy and batting means he remains integral to the side nonetheless. Stokes spoke about trying to get on the field as soon as possible regarding his injury and rehabilitation.
“I am all good, just slowly progressing. It is still very early days in the rehab period, and I want to get back as quickly as I possibly can. Being around the medical team here, with physio and doctors, I thought was going to give myself the best chance of getting back sooner rather than later,” Ben Stokes said in a video released by the England Cricket Board (ECB).
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As Stokes is thus inching closer to his comeback, all-teams’ camps will be glueing their attention to the recovery of this England all-rounder, and general anticipation from teammates as well as fans is to see him leading from the front once again.