Will Ben Stokes bowl in Vizag Test? England captain provides humungous update on his fitness

Ben Stokes is set to take the ball in hand for England soon and as a tentative first step, he will be bowling in the nets when England trains on Thursday. Joe Root has overtaken Ben Stokes in the ICC Test rankings. The five wickets Root took in the series opener in Hyderabad where England registered an epic win by 28 runs saw him move up to No. 4, one ahead of Stokes, in the International Cricket Council’s Test all-rounder rankings.

Ben Stokes last bowled competitively for England in the Lord’s Tes during the Ashes in June 2023 and after that, he underwent surgery on his long-standing knee injury in November. The Test captain of England returned to action last week and put up a wonderful batting performance in his first innings where he smashed 70 off 88 deliveries, pulling off a stunning run out of Ravindra Jadeja in the final innings, and reporting no pain since.

“There has been no reaction from my knee, nothing like that whatsoever,” he said. “I am happy where it is at. There are no issues whatsoever.” Ben Stokes worked tirelessly hard on his fitness and rehabilitation before the tour, and that process continues this week as he returns to gentle bowling in the practice sessions and hopefully, he will return to bowling for England in no time.

Will Ben Stokes Bowl In The Second Test Against India?

Ben Stokes is one of the greatest all-rounders in England’s history and has 197 Test wickets at an average of 32. While there is no sense that he will bowl on this tour of India, he has outlined plans to be back to his all-round abilities this summer and wants to continue his all-rounder’s role in next year’s Ashes and beyond. His knee issues mean he has bowled in just two of his seven Tests since the start of last summer, and he played the World Cup as a specialist batsman.

“You will see me bowl tomorrow,” he said. “I did say that this trip is a back-to-bowling program for me. You have seen me do a lot of running and that has been part of it. Tomorrow is just the start of low-impact bowling, get the rest of my body going again and just gradually keep building that up.

“I won’t be bowling in the game [the second Test in Visakhapatnam]. It is a lot easier [not bowling]. But I am looking forward to getting back into it. I have obviously missed it and I know when I am bowling it is a huge help for the team. Preparing just as a batter is a lot easier, you don’t have to do as much.

“I honestly don’t think so,” he said when asked if he could have pulled it off before surgery. “I think I would have been thinking about my movements, whereas then I didn’t have to. I’m not rehabbing for the sake of it. I’m just trying to keep on top of it and everything is ok.”

England is already leading the five-match Test series by 1-0 and will now play against the hosts at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. India has a terrific record in the home Test series as they have yet to lose a Test series in India since 2012 when they were defeated by England in the four-match series by 2-1.

The Indian team have won 16 consecutive home Test series since the defeat against England. Ben Stokes and company will be hoping to produce another brilliant performance ahead in the series and take a lead of 2-0 in the series, putting themselves in a strong position. India is already in huge trouble as KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are ruled out of the second Test because of their respective injury concerns.