Ben Stokes says no to T20 World Cup: After opting out of IPL 2024, England star makes himself unavailable for ICC event

Ben Stokes has handed selectors a major headache by ruling himself out of England's T20 squad for the ICC World Cup.

England Test captain Ben Stokes has made himself unavailable for the forthcoming edition of the ICC World T20 on Tuesday. Stokes architected England's World Cup title triumph in Australia. The England star played a stellar knock of 52 against Babar Azam's Pakistan in the 2022 final of the ICC event. With England set to defend its T20 World Cup crown in the United States and the Caribbean later this year, Stokes has handed selectors a major headache by ruling himself out of the T20 squad for the ICC event.

Ben Stokes plays a shot during the third One Day International (ODI) cricket match between England and New Zealand at The Oval (AFP)

Returning from One Day International (ODI) retirement to spearhead England's squad at the World Cup in India, Stokes had to delay his knee surgery last year. However, Stokes-starrer England failed to clear the group stage in its title-defending campaign at the 2023 World Cup. Following England's exit from the ICC event, Stokes had an operation in November.

Stokes says no to T20 World Cup after opting out of IPL 2024

The former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had skipped the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 2024 to manage his workload and fitness. Stokes was CSK's most expensive auction buy before the start of the 2023 season. The former Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder was roped in by CSK for INR 16.25 crore at the IP auction. Stokes captained England in the five-match Test series against Team India before the IPL 2024.

'Opting out of IPL and World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice'

Stokes and Co. were outplayed by India, who handed England's Bazballers a 4-1 series defeat in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). In a statement released by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Stokes explained why the Test skipper opted out of the IPL and the T20 World Cup this year. "I'm working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an allrounder in all formats of cricket," Stokes said in a statement released by the ECB on Tuesday. "Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the allrounder I want to be for the foreseeable future,” Stokes added.