Ben Stokes rules himself out of T20 Cricket World Cup selection to focus on regaining all-rounder fitness

Ben Stokes has ruled himself out of this summer’s T20 World Cup in order to focus on being fit to play a ‘full all-rounder role in all formats of cricket’; England won the World Cup back in 2022 with Stokes in the side; Watch every match this June live on Sky Sports

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Image: Ben Stokes has ruled himself out of the T20 World Cup this summer

Ben Stokes has confirmed he does not wish to be considered for England selection for this summer’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will take place in June in the West Indies and USA.

Stokes’ primary focus is to get fully fit to bowl not only for the summer of Test cricket, which includes two three-match Test series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, but for all forms of cricket in the future.

England Test captain Stokes 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.

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“Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future.

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Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain discuss if Ben Stokes will be able to find the balance between batting and bowling as an all-rounder for England.

“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), Motty (white-ball coach Matthew Mott) and all the team the best of luck in defending our title.”

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England’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup defence starts on June 4 against Scotland at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. They will then play group matches against Australia, Oman, and Namibia in Barbados and Antigua before qualification for the Super 8s and knockout stages.

With the event expanded to 20 teams, teams will be divided into four groups of five, with Ireland in Group A and both England and Scotland in Group B, with the top two from each then advancing to the Super 8 stage.

The Super 8s will feature two pools of four with the top two making the semi-finals, ahead of the final in Barbados on June 29, with all matches from the four-week tournament exclusively live on Sky Sports.