England captain Ben Stokes has confirmed his participation in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the second Test against New Zealand. Stokes’ presence was under doubt as he suffered a knee injury during the second Test which severely impacted his performance throughout the game. This injury also helped the Kiwis to pull off a massive comeback win.
After the game, while speaking in the press conference, Stokes spoke about how he has been working hard with his physio and will be ready for the IPL. He also stated that he has been talking to Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming, who is fully aware of his health.
“I’ve been working hard with our physio and medics but once the games came around it was hard to get everything done around my knee. I’m going to the IPL, don’t worry. I’ve had conversations with Flem [Chennai coach Stephen Fleming] and he’s fully aware of the situation with my body at the moment.”
Further in the press conference, Stokes spoke about how the injury affected him during the game. Further stokes stated that he has enough time to recover and will be back, fully fit for the Ashes. He said, “I’m not a surgeon but I knew when I’d bowled a bit it didn’t feel good.”
“I’ve got a four-month period now to get it even better before the Ashes and I’ll be doing everything I can. I’ve been in different situations where I’ve been good, I’ve gone through situations where it’s not been good, but if anything I’ll probably take my commitment to getting it better even more now."
Talking about the second Test, New Zealand became the second-only team to register a win after receiving a follow. The Kiwi bowlers managed to defend the target of 258 runs against a formidable batting line up with Neil Wagner picking up four wickets.
