The England Test captain Ben Stokes is set to undergo Knee Surgery after the ODI World Cup and probably miss the Test series against India.
Ben Stokes likely to undergo knee surgery after World Cup
India will be playing a 5 Test match series against England in 2024, starting on January 25 in the home ground. But Ben Stokes has indicated that he’ll be needing knee surgery after World Cup 2023. Due to chronic tendonitis in his knee, he was out for most of the matches this summer.
He has been struggling to bowl with soreness in his knee. He was playing as a specialist batter during the last three Test matches in Ashes 2023. He will be playing as a specialist batter in the ODI series against New Zealand and the World Cup 2023 in India.
“I know what’s going to happen, I just don’t think now is the right time to say what I’m doing,” said Stokes.
“I’ve been having some good conversations with some specialists. There is a plan in place. It’s nice knowing after the World Cup we’ve got something, a really good plan we can do and we can stick to. I want to be playing next summer as a genuine all-rounder. This winter is all about playing this World Cup, then getting this knee sorted,” he added.
“We’ve got to understand, and I’ve got to understand as a captain, that there might be some decisions players make and I’m very comfortable and aware that something like that might happen,” Stokes said.
“But it’s up to the individual and I think having a good and clear understanding that the landscape of cricket is changing in front of our eyes very quickly, makes things like this a bit easier to understand if players were to choose to do something like that,” he concluded.
Depending on the nature of the operation and his rehabilitation process, the recovery could take 8-12 weeks. He could be able to return for the following IPL season after his rehab.
Previously Ben Stokes had retired from ODI cricket in July 2022, but he reversed his decision to retire from the format in order to compete in the World Cup hosted by India which is scheduled to begin on October 5.
After completing their ODI series against New Zealand, England will be playing a three-match ODI series against Ireland and will be playing two warm-up matches against India and Bangladesh. They will be facing New Zealand in the first match of the World Cup 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
