England skipper Ben Stokes on track for upcoming Pakistan tour
London: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has informed that their Test captain Ben Stokes is on track for the upcoming tour of Pakistan, which is set to begin in 12 days with the first Test of the three-match series at Multan.
Stokes, 33, has been out of action since he suffered a hamstring injury playing in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers early in August. The all-rounder underwent a planned scan of the injury on Wednesday.
“Ben Stokes today underwent a planned scan on his hamstring injury. Results confirmed his recovery remains on track ahead of the Test tour to Pakistan,” the ECB said in its statement. “The results of the scans were positive and confirmed that his recovery, since sustaining the injury six-and-a-half weeks ago, remains on track to participate in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan,” the England statement said.
While he looks on track for a return for the Pakistan series, there are still doubts on whether he can still bowl and contribute to the team as an all-rounder.
In an interview with Sky Sports on Tuesday, Stokes was asked whether he would be able to bowl in the series and he said, “I think that’s you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously, I’ve been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym.
“There’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling because you use everything, so I need to get that all right to make sure I don’t do any damage to other parts of my body,” he was quoted as saying.
Stokes missed England’s 2-1 defeat of Sri Lanka with Ollie Pope stepping up to lead the side. England travel to Pakistan next Tuesday for the series that starts on October 7.
