England national cricket team red ball captain Ben Stokes has confirmed his availability for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the United States of America (USA) and the West Indies in June 2024.
Stokes is considered one of the most reliable players in world cricket and is known for playing tremendous knocks in pressure situations and leading his team to victory. Over the years, Ben Stokes has played some incredible knocks in tough situations, and one of those innings came in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
On November 13 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Ben Stokes scored an unbeaten 52 runs off 49 balls during the chase while taking on the dangerous Pakistani trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.
He played a slow knock but ensured that his team won the match by 5 wickets and lifted the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 trophy. That match also turned out to be the last for Ben Stokes in T20I cricket as he has not featured in the England format since then. However, he made two T20 appearances during this period, playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings.
Overall, in 43 T20I matches, Stokes scored 585 runs at an average of 21.66 and a strike rate of 128.00, with a best score of 52*. With the ball, he has taken 26 wickets at an average of 32.92, an economy of 8.39 and a strike rate of 23.5. The numbers don’t do justice to what Ben Stokes brings to the table and now he has made himself available for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
I haven’t even thought about it but I’m available – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes spoke to the media ahead of the fifth and final Test of the away series against India and was asked about his involvement in the T20 World Cup. He said that he is available for selection if the ECB wants him for the main tournament.
“I haven’t even thought about it but I’m available.” [for the T20 World Cup]” said Stokes, speaking ahead of England’s fifth Test against India.
“Whether or not I am in the plans for that is a different thing. But I still want to be part of that team in the future.”
Stokes was also available for The Hundred for four or five matches, according to BBC Sport. The competition will be played from July 23 to August 18.
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes will lead England in the fifth Test against India starting March 7 and will hope for a consolation win as the hosts have already clinched the series 3-1.
“It would not be a lie to say that the teams can think about the flight [home] before the game has started. Hand on heart, we are not there, that is not our mentality, that is not our way of thinking. We will think about the plane when we are on it, when the game is over and we are on the way home. “We’ll be here for another five or six days and our whole mindset is on what we have to do to win this game,” Stokes said.