England all-rounder Ben Stokes has withdrawn from the India Test series.
According to the official statement, the England all-rounder will be taking a break from cricket to prioritize his mental health and also to recover completely from his finger injury.
Stokes has recently said that he had played in the Pakistan series with a huge amount of pain in his finger.
Initially, Stokes was not available for the Pakistan series but with multiple COVID19 cases, Stokes had to lead the side.
Ashley Giles, Managing director of England men’s cricket said-
“Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing.
“Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be the mental health and welfare of all of our people. The demands on our athletes to prepare and play elite sport are relentless in a typical environment, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely compounded this.
“Spending significant amounts of time away from family, with minimal freedoms, is extremely challenging. The cumulative effect of operating almost continuously in these environments over the last 16 months has had a major impact on everyone’s wellbeing.”
“Ben will be given as long as he needs, and we look forward to seeing him playing cricket for England in the future.”
(Quote from ecb.co.uk)
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