After IPL, Ben Stokes opts out of T20 World Cup

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has expressed his unavailability for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the USA in June.

England are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup after having beat Pakistan by five wickets in a pulsating final in Melbourne in 2022.

Stokes, who leads England in Tests, said he has taken the decision to opt out of the T20 World Cup to help himself regain his bowling fitness and completely fulfil his role as an all-rounder in all forms of cricket for the future.

England will play two Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, respectively, after the World Cup, and Stokes has set sights on those.

Stokes said he hopes that opting out of the IPL and the T20 World Cup will be a sacrifice that he makes to help himself become a better all-rounder. “I’m working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an all-rounder in all formats of cricket. 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,” he said, in a media statement, released by the England Cricket Board.

The England Test team skipper said the recent England’s tour of India gave him a clear perspective of how far he was behind from a bowling point of view and said he needed to take the time off to prepare himself for the grind ahead. “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,” he added.

Stokes will head to Durham and take part in the County Championship, and he sent his best wishes to England T20 captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott to defend their T20 World Cup title.

England are grouped with Australia, Oman, Namibia and Scotland and will start their World Cup sojourn on June 4 against Scotland at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.