As per the latest reports, English all-rounder Ben Stokes can miss the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup which is scheduled to play in UAE and Oman. 30-year-old Stokes took a sabbatical from all formats of cricket in July citing his mental health as the reason behind his decision. He is also recovering from an index finger injury for which he recently underwent surgery. The upcoming World Cup is scheduled to play in October and November and England could be traveling without their best all-rounder.
Ben Stokes To Miss The Upcoming T20I World Cup
Ben Stokes is not part of the current English team which are currently playing India in a five-match Test series. He will also not feature for Rajasthan Royals in the second installment of the Indian Premier League 2021 season which will re-start on September 19. Rajasthan Royals has replaced Ben Stokes with Windies fast bowler Oshane Thomas for the remainder of the season.
Daily Mail were the first to broke the news of Stokes missing the upcoming World Cup. On Saturday, Daily Mail broke out the shocking news in their following section. “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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England have till September 10 to announce their final squad for the upcoming World Cup. The report further adds that the English selectors will meet in the coming days to finalize the 15-man squad. England are expected to the final announcement by September 9, before meeting India for their final Test at Manchester.
“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 said the report.
