England Test captain Ben Stokes has opted out of selection for this summer’s T20 World Cup, stating his intentions to improve his fitness across all cricket formats.
Stokes, who underwent knee surgery in the winter, said making himself unavailable for selection “will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future”.
The 32-year-old already removed himself from contention for the Indian Premier League, which started last month, and will now miss England’s T20 World Cup defence in the West Indies and United States.
He said: “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.
“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.
“I’m looking forward to playing for Durham in the County Championship before the start of our Test summer. I wish Jos [Buttler, captain], Motty [Matthew Mott, head coach] and all the team the best of luck in defending our title.”
Repeated injury issues have meant Stokes has not featured in an international T20 since November 2022.
He was a key figure in England’s T20 World Cup triumph that year, scoring an unbeaten half-century in the final against Pakistan.
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