England Test captain Ben Stokes undergoes successful facial surgery

NEW DELHI: England Test captain Ben Stokes underwent a successful surgery for the facial injury, which left him significantly bruised after being stuck on the cheek by a cricket ball.

Sharing the news of the surgery via his Instagram story on Tuesday, the 34-year-old jokingly wrote, “May not look like it… but the surgery was a success”.

Last week, he shared the news of his injury in an Instagram story, saying, “You should see the state of the ball”. According to ESPNcricinfo, it was understood that Stokes was not batting or bowling when he sustained the injury, and was instead standing at the side of a nets session.

The flamboyant allrounder has been out of cricketing action since leaving the field due to an adductor injury during the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia in Sydney last month. Stokes hasn’t played any white-ball cricket for England since the 2023 World Cup, and he was not included in the squad for the T20 World Cup, currently underway in India and Sri Lanka.

The England Test captain’s next international appearance is likely to come in the first Test of England’s home series against New Zealand in June, though he may play for Durham in the County Championship before then. Stokes and the former England player Moeen Ali were set to join another former cricketer, Andrew Flintoff, on the England Lions coaching setup for a white-ball series against Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi in February-March.

The selectors have named a 17-player squad for the three-match T20 series, with a 16-player squad announced for the five 50-over matches.

England Lions T20 squad: Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox (capt), Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Saqib Mahmood, Ben McKinney, Tom Moores, Dan Mousley, Matt Revis, Will Smeed, Nathan Sowter, Mitchell Stanley, Asa Tribe.
England Lions 50-over squad: Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Dan Mousley (capt), Liam Patterson-White, Matthew Potts, Matt Revis, James Rew, Mitchell Stanley, Asa Tribe, James Wharton. (ANI)