World Cup 2023: England’s Ben Stokes ‘unlikely’ to feature against Bangladesh, says Butler

Ahead of the clash between England and Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup, England captain Jos Buttler said all-rounder Ben Stokes was not fully fit and is unlikely to pay in the match.

England and Bangladesh will face each other on Tuesday at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, in Dharamshala.

England will be eying to win the contest as they lost their first match against New Zealand by nine wickets. Bangladesh will be riding high on confidence after winning their campaign opener clash against Afghanistan.

Star allrounder was the major missing against New Zealand as he missed the game due to a hip injury.

The skipper, Jos Buttler said at the pre-match press conference about Ben Stokes’ fitness, “Yeah, probably unlikely. It is good to see him back in the nets and building back towards full fitness but probably unlikely for tomorrow”.

The Wicketkeeper batter said the team is looking ahead to put behind the disappointing game against New Zealand.

Furthermore, Butler addresses the concerns related to the pitch in Dharmshala, Yes, the outfield is different from when we played here in the IPL. But yeah, there are a couple of guys who played one or two games here. I think I played in a game about 10 years ago. But we will adapt and we have those discussions.”

England squad

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

Bangladesh squad

Shakib Al Hasan (c), Litton Kumer Das, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto (vc), Tawhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.