The England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday, July 30 that Ben Stokes, the talismanic England all-rounder, will take an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect “to prioritise his mental welfare.”
The sabbatical, which will see Stokes miss the next ICC World Test Championship series against India, was also taken “to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his comeback to competitive cricket earlier this month,” according to Stokes.
The all-rounder “has showed amazing courage to open up about his sentiments and welfare,” said Ashley Giles, the Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket.
BREAKING: England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes has taken an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/lcQSAMYUGt — ICC (@ICC) July 30, 2021
BREAKING: England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes has taken an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/lcQSAMYUGt
— ICC (@ICC) July 30, 2021
“The mental health and welfare of all of our people has always been and will continue to be our major emphasis,” Giles added. “In a typical setting, the expectations on our athletes to prepare and perform elite sport are rigorous, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely amplified this.”
For the Test series against India, Craig Overton has been picked as his substitute.
