Ben Stokes will undergo surgery on his left knee immediately after England’s World Cup campaign with the hope of returning to all-rounder status for the Test tour of India early next year.
The 32-year-old has been hindered by a chronic problem in the joint over the past 18 months and sent down just 29 overs in the summer’s drawn Ashes series, the last of which came during the second Test at Lord’s in June. But having played in this World Cup as a specialist batter with limited success, Stokes is optimistic that surgery scheduled for his return to the UK will allow him to bowl in the daunting five-Test series against India that starts in Hyderabad on 25 January.
