Ben Stokes ruled out of all cricket for three months

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of all cricket for at least three months with a torn left hamstring.

The England captain suffered the injury during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton, where his side won the series 2-1.

Earlier this week, Stokes was not named in England's 15-man squad for next year's Champions Trophy owing to his injury.

Stokes has had tough luck with such long-term injuries. He endured a knee surgery in October 2023 after the ODI World Cup which took lengthy rehabilitation before he could return. Even during the tournament, England could not use his services to full extent. In August this year, he suffered a similar torn hamstring that ruled him out of the remainder of the English summer. He came back but had to manage his bowling workload. He opted to sit out of IPL 2024 and didn't put his name up in the mega auction to follow in order to manage his fitness better.

Heading into the Hamilton Test, he exuded confidence in his body and how he managed it: "I have to work so much harder on the physical side of the job to allow me to go out and do my job but I got a good amount of overs in during the last two games and I am more confident about getting through a lot of spells in a day.

"That is where I got to before I pulled my hamstring. I bowled nice in the summer, had a setback but now feel out of that and not worrying about anything else happening again. As you get older you think about your body a bit more but I work harder because I have to," Stokes had said.

Stokes went on to bowl a lot of overs in the same fixture and has now been laid low by a similar long-term injury. Owing to this, Stokes will miss next year's Hundred competition, which begins on January 9.