England captain Ben Stokes was seen doing bowling practice during a net session earlier this morning and he reportedly bowled for about 20 minutes or so at the JSCA stadium in Ranchi.
He revealed during the press conference after the 3rd Test that he is setting his sights on bowling in the next Test match, claiming that he feels a lot better and that his knee injury has also recovered faster than he thought.
Ben Stokes had not been bowling ever since he went through knee surgery which was operated by Dr. Andy Williams who has also performed operations for England players like Andrew Flintoff and Chris Woakes among others. Stokes underwent the surgery on November 2023, right after the Cricket World Cup in India concluded.
He had come out of retirement from the ODI format only to participate in the World Cup which England had entered as reigning champions before eventually finishing in the 7th position.
His doctor had asked him to not bowl any time soon as it can put further pressure on his knees but now it seems as if he is nearing making a return with the ball to help the side regain form in the ongoing series.
Do-or-Die situation awaits England in Ranchi
Ben Stokes’ England currently have their backs against the wall as they find themselves behind by 2-1 in the 5-match Test series in India. The visitors have looked like a shadow of themselves and the team that won the 1st Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs.
They were able to win that Test match on the back of an individual performance from Ollie Pope, something that England have lacked in the last two Tests.
It is also time for senior batters like Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to fire from the middle order as their lack of runs has heavily affected England’s results.
Their underwhelming performance also has a lot to do with the individual brilliance shown by Indian batters, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Couple that batting unit with the bowling department which has seen Jasprit Bumrah lead from the front while Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jadeja have played the supporting roles pretty well.
It will all be down to the 4th Test at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium from February 23 onwards when England will look to start staging a comeback.
Watch Ben Stokes putting extra effort in the nets
Ben Stokes bowling on one of the side pitches in Ranchi. Session lasted 20 minutes! pic.twitter.com/jjvuwTfbGY
— Pratyush Sinha (@prat1204) February 21, 2024
After confirming during the press conference in Rajkot about being able to bowl at 100% intensity during nets, Ben Stokes made a cryptic claim about bowling in the 4th Test. He sounded quite unsure about that during the statement he made but the latest video which came out about 9 AM, could be an indication that Ben Stokes will bowl in Ranchi.
“I had my first bowl (in the nets) at 100 percent. As a person, I like to jump the gun a little bit too much. I have to get my whole body to get used to bowling. So I am not saying no, but I am not saying yes, either.” – Stokes told reporters in Rajkot.