Kolkata : England Test Skipper Ben Stokes has been ruled out of English summer & will miss Sri Lanka Test series, owing to a hamstring injury. Ollie Pope will lead England in his absence.
Ben Stokes suffered an injury playing for Northern Superchargers against Manchester Originals. Opening the Batting, facing his 4th delivery, he walked with great discomfort to the other end and had to be carried off the field, and was thus retired hurt. After the scan, a hamstring injury was revealed.
ECB ON BEN STOKES INJURY
The English Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement, “England Men’s Test Captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out for the rest of the summer after tearing his left hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred on Sunday. As a result of the scans conducted in Leeds on Tuesday, Stokes will miss England’s three-match Rothesay Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday, 21 August.”
Speaking of Stokes’ return to Cricket, ECB are hopefully for his comeback in the Pakistan tour. No replacement is added in the Sri Lanka tour.
ECB ON STOKES’ POTENTIAL RETURN
ECB said, “There will be no addition to the squad for this series. The all-rounder is aiming to return for England’s winter Test tour of Pakistan, scheduled to start in early October. The tour includes three Test matches in Multan, Karachi, and Rawalpindi.”
OLLIE POPE TO LEAD
Speaking about Ollie Pope, the stand-in captain for Stokes in the Sri Lanka series, the ECB said, “England batter Ollie Pope will captain the side in Ben’s absence”.
Stokes’ absence is big, but will open doors for a new leader to the team.
