London [UK], July 30 (ANI): Ahead of the fifth and final Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy starting from July 31 against India, England skipper Ben Stokes reveals he has a muscle tear, due to which he will be out of the playing 11 for the series decider.
Stokes has been ruled out of the England squad for the fifth and final Test against India due to an injury, with Ollie Pope set to lead the side in his absence. Stokes also said he gave himself every chance to play just as a batter in the final Test.
In this ongoing series with the bat, Stokes has made 304 runs in seven innings at an average of 43.42, with a century to his name.
“I am obviously disappointed, I have got a decent tear in one of the muscles I can’t pronounce. We took as long as we could to make the decision around that. Obviously, there is a bit of emotion that goes into this stuff when you find out what you have done. I came down here this morning to give myself every chance to play just as a batter,” Ben Stokes told the media as quoted from Sky Sports.
Stokes said it was a collective decision-making process after consulting with the medical team and then having a discussion with the coach, Brendon McCullum.
“I think you need that time chatting with the medical team, Baz (McCullum), then 20 minutes with me to really be clear around the decision that we made. It is one of those weighing up the risk and reward, and the risk was way too high for the damage,” Stokes added.
“I wouldn’t expect to put any of my players at risk with an injury like this, so I will start rehabbing now and focus on what we have got coming up in the winter. Once the series was done, I was feet up anyway, so it doesn’t make too much difference from what I had at the end of the series until the winter anyway,” he added.
With a ball in hand, Stokes has been merciless, relentless, producing miracles effortlessly. He is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 17 scalps at an average of 25.23, with best figures of 5/72 and has also taken a four-fer. He has also won two Player of the Match awards.
The fifth and final Test of the series will take place from Thursday onwards, with the series in favour of England by 2-1 following a hard-fought draw by India at Old Trafford in Manchester.
India would not be able to win the series in England, something they last did back in 2007, but they have a chance to bow out with their heads held high and series levelled.
England line-up. Zak Crawley 2. Ben Duckett 3. Ollie Pope (c) 4. Joe Root 5. Harry Brook 6. Jacob Bethell 7. Jamie Smith (wk) 8. Chris Woakes 9. Gus Atkinson 10. Jamie Overton 11. Josh Tongue. (ANI)
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