Played PAK series with ‘ridiculous pain’ but hopeful of recovering in time for India Tests, reveals Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes, who earlier this week led England to a 3-0 win over Pakistan, revealed that he played the ODI series with ‘ridiculous pain’, adding that he needed injection to ‘ease it’ for the rest of the summer. Stokes, however, is hopeful of the acute pain going away in time for the India tests.

England were responsible for one of the sporting stories of the year earlier this week as with a ‘C’ side, the Three Lions whitewashed Pakistan to showcase their depth in white-ball cricket. A Covid outbreak within the senior camp forced the ECB to name a fresh, hastily-assembled squad comprising new faces, but that was no issue for England, who convincingly outclassed Pakistan. In the absence of Eoin Morgan, it was Ben Stokes who marshalled the troops, but the all-rounder has now revealed that he was, in fact, not fully fit.

Writing for mirror.co.uk, Stokes revealed that he played the Pakistan ODIs with ‘ridiculous pain’, and added that he only featured in the three matches as he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to captain the side.

“It was a totally unexpected set of games for me and the truth is I would never have played under normal circumstances due to how much pain I was in with my left index finger. The surgery was a success after I had broken it at the IPL, but it was still so painful. Sometimes though you just have to grin and bear it, and captaining England is one of those reasons,” Stokes wrote in his ‘Mirror’ column.

The 30-year-old, however, confirmed that the finger which he fractured in the IPL has ‘structurally healed’, and added that he has now had an injection to ease the pain.

“The finger has healed structurally, but the pain was just ridiculous for where it should be so that is why I have now had an injection to ease it for the rest of the summer.”

The English management left Stokes out of the T20Is against Pakistan, in order to give time for the talisman to fully recover in time for the five-Test series against India that starts next month. Stokes said that he was hopeful of the finger pain dissipating completely before the India tour, which he described as a ‘huge series’.

“I’ve got a bit of a break now which should give the steroids time to take effect and allow me to play pain free in the Hundred and then against India.

“Hopefully my finger won’t be a problem by the time the India Test series comes around, because that is a huge series and one we are all desperate to perform well in.”

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