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Ben Stokes likely to miss 2021 T20 World Cup
By SMCS - Sep 4, 2021 3:30 pm
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England all-rounder Ben Stokes is likely to miss the upcoming T20 World Cup which is all set to take place in Oman and the UAE in October and November. Stokes has taken an indefinite break from all forms of cricket in July to take care of his mental health and also to give time to his left index finger to heal after surgery.

ben stokes
Ben Stokes played a fiery knock

Ben Stokes has also missed the ongoing five-match Test series against India and will not take part in the second phase of Indian Premier League 2021 which will start on September 19. West Indies pace bowler Oshane Thomas has been called in as a replacement for Stokes in Rajasthan Royals as well.

“Whether he does travel to Dubai to feature in England’s attempts to unite both global white-ball belts next month is unclear, although sources close to Stokes say ‘he is not even thinking about cricket at the moment’,” said a report by the Daily Mail on Saturday.

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However, there is a deadline for sharing the squads for the T20 World Cup on September 10 and the 15-member squad and three reserves are soon to be announced as well.

ben stokes
Ben Stokes scored another fiery fifty

“As changes can be made freely up until October 10, seven days before the tournament’s group stage begins, Chris Silverwood could provisionally name the 2019 World Cup-winning star within that 18. However, given the circumstances, the ECB may be unwilling to place any undue pressure on their talismanic all-rounder, having said they would give him ‘all the time he needs’ when he announced his break on July 30,” further shared the report.

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Ben Stokes has last appeared in an international match as a captain during the three-match ODI series against Pakistan. He led a young and rather inexperienced England squad in the absence of first choice players due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the camp. After two games for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, he announced that he would be on an indefinite break from the game with immediate effect as well.