Ben Stokes will start working on his bowling when England train on Thursday (December 1) for the upcoming second Test against Team India. The England captain, who is widely regarded as one of the best allrounders of his generation, has not bowled much in recent times due to the knee issue.
He has not bowled in international cricket since the Lord’s Test against Australia in June last year and underwent surgery after the ODI World Cup. In fact, he has been leapfrogged by his teammate Joe Root in the ICC Rankings for Test allrounders. Root has moved up to No. 4 in the rankings after taking five wickets in the first Test against India.
“There has been no reaction from my knee, nothing like that whatsoever,” Ben Stokes said on Wednesday. “I am happy where it is at. There are no issues whatsoever.”
Ben Stokes resumes bowling:
Riding high on confidence after the stunning win in the first Test, England have received another huge boost as their talismanic captain confirmed that he would be resuming bowling. He has picked up 197 Test wickets in his illustrious career so far and would be keen to contribute with the ball in the ongoing series. At the same time, he also confirmed that he would not be bowling in the second Test of the series.
“You will see me bowl tomorrow,” he said. “I did say that this trip is a back to bowling programme for me. You have seen me do a lot of running and that has been part of it. Tomorrow is just the start of low impact bowling, get the rest of my body going again and just gradually keep building that up.
“I won’t be bowling in the game [the second Test in Visakhapatnam]. It is a lot easier [not bowling]. But I am looking forward to getting back into it. I have obviously missed it and I know when I am bowling it is a huge help for the team. Preparing just as a batter is a lot easier, you don’t have to do as much.
“It will be very very minimal because I don’t want to do myself any damage the day before the game,” added Ben Stokes.
Meanwhile, England will be without Jack Leach for the second Test as the spinner has been sidelined with a knee injury that he sustained while fielding in the first Test. In his absence, Shoaib Bashir is likely to make his debut. The visitors are currently leading the five-match series after winning the series-opener in Hyderabad by 5 wickets.
