Why Ben Stokes will miss England’s T20 World Cup defence this summer
England’s cricketers have suffered a major blow ahead of their defence of the T20 World Cup this summer after talisman Ben Stokes asked to miss the tournament.
Test captain Stokes wants to manage his workload before red-ball series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in order to get back to full fitness following knee surgery last year.
The all-rounder has struggled to bowl since the operation and had already decided to forego a lucrative contract in the Indian Premier League in order to recuperate.
“Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future,” said Stokes.
“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, captain], Motty [head coach Matthew Mott] and all the team the best of luck in defending our title.”
The T20 World Cup is taking place in the United States, which is co-hosting with the Caribbean, for the first time this year.
England begin their defence on 4 June against Scotland at the Kensington Oval in Barbados before further group matches against Australia, Oman, and Namibia in Barbados and Antigua.
