England's red-ball skipper Ben Stokes has successfully undergone knee surgery and will now spend time undergoing rehabilitation to regain full fitness ahead of England's five-match-long Test tour of India starting January 25, 2024.
Stokes took to the social media platform 'X' to inform his fans about the latest development. The Canterbury-born posted a picture in which he can be seen holding crutches for support.
The star English allrounder was unable to display his bowling prowess lately due to his left knee injury and played as a batter for the Three Lions during the recently culminated ODI World Cup 2023. The 32-year-old played a crucial role with the willow in hand to ensure the Jos Buttler-led side finished in the seventh position at the end of the round-robin stage and earned the qualification for ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Despite battling the injury and missing three games during England's World Cup 2023 campaign, Stokes finished the tournament as their second-leading run-getter behind Dawid Malan. He aggregated 304 runs in six contests at an impressive average of 50.66.
His World Cup outing included a ton against the Netherlands while playing at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune and two half-centuries. His 108-run knock helped England thrash the Netherlands by 160 runs, while his fifty against the Aussies ended in a losing cause.
The batting allrounder scored a 76-ball 84 to end the World Cup on a high as it helped England beat the Babar Azam-led Pakistan by 93 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Stokes' availability will be key to England's chances of doing well against India in the forthcoming Test series. Notably, England was the last team that had won a Test series against India on Indian soil back in 2012 and the Three Lions would look to replicate the same in 2024.
