<p>Ahmedabad: Talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Friday revealed he’ll undergo knee surgery right after the World Cup as he hopes to get fit in time for the country’s marquee five-match Test series in India starting January 25 in Hyderabad next year.</p><p>Stokes, the captain of the Test side and jointly credited along with coach Brendon McCullum for employing the ‘Bazball’ style of attacking batting, has been plagued by a chronic left knee issue for the last 18 months and has cut down on his bowling considerably. He, in fact, hasn’t bowled a ball in a competitive match in any format since the second Ashes Test against Australia in July, playing purely as a specialist batter. </p><p>Stokes initially planned to have surgery right after the Ashes series which ended 2-2 but then changed his mind, coming out of ODI retirement to play in the World Cup where everything has gone wrong for England. However with the series against India being one of the marquee ones in world cricket, Stokes felt it was right to go under the knife now that would give him enough time to recover where he’s expected to play a major role with both the bat and ball. </p>.World Cup not a stage to focus on individual milestones: Iyer.<p> “I am having surgery after the World Cup,” said Stokes on the eve of England’s match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium. “I'll be fine for the Test Series in India.”</p><p>Stokes, who spoke separately to the travelling English journalists right after the conclusion of the ICC press conference, didn’t exactly reveal the details of the surgery but it’s expected to sideline him anywhere between five to eight weeks. “Well, so we go to those meetings and generally take a physio and a doctor with me and then those two start talking and then I just turn up and get put to sleep, wake up and hopefully it's better!”</p><p>Stokes, meanwhile, was candid in admitting England were ‘crap’ this World Cup where they’ve managed just one win in six games and sit at bottom of the table. “No, I think the problem is that we've been crap. To be honest with you, we've been crap. Everything we've tried throughout this World Cup, through trying to put pressure back onto the opposition in a way in which we know, or trying to soak up the pressure in a different way, which we know we've done before and been successful with, it's just not worked," he said. </p><p>“We've been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup, which has been incredibly disappointing because we know we're so, so much better than what we've shown out here. It's just been one of those tournaments where, yeah, it's just been a disaster. And there's no point sugarcoating it because it's probably what you're all going to write anyway, and it's true.”</p>
<p>Ahmedabad: Talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Friday revealed he’ll undergo knee surgery right after the World Cup as he hopes to get fit in time for the country’s marquee five-match Test series in India starting January 25 in Hyderabad next year.</p><p>Stokes, the captain of the Test side and jointly credited along with coach Brendon McCullum for employing the ‘Bazball’ style of attacking batting, has been plagued by a chronic left knee issue for the last 18 months and has cut down on his bowling considerably. He, in fact, hasn’t bowled a ball in a competitive match in any format since the second Ashes Test against Australia in July, playing purely as a specialist batter. </p><p>Stokes initially planned to have surgery right after the Ashes series which ended 2-2 but then changed his mind, coming out of ODI retirement to play in the World Cup where everything has gone wrong for England. However with the series against India being one of the marquee ones in world cricket, Stokes felt it was right to go under the knife now that would give him enough time to recover where he’s expected to play a major role with both the bat and ball. </p>.World Cup not a stage to focus on individual milestones: Iyer.<p> “I am having surgery after the World Cup,” said Stokes on the eve of England’s match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium. “I'll be fine for the Test Series in India.”</p><p>Stokes, who spoke separately to the travelling English journalists right after the conclusion of the ICC press conference, didn’t exactly reveal the details of the surgery but it’s expected to sideline him anywhere between five to eight weeks. “Well, so we go to those meetings and generally take a physio and a doctor with me and then those two start talking and then I just turn up and get put to sleep, wake up and hopefully it's better!”</p><p>Stokes, meanwhile, was candid in admitting England were ‘crap’ this World Cup where they’ve managed just one win in six games and sit at bottom of the table. “No, I think the problem is that we've been crap. To be honest with you, we've been crap. Everything we've tried throughout this World Cup, through trying to put pressure back onto the opposition in a way in which we know, or trying to soak up the pressure in a different way, which we know we've done before and been successful with, it's just not worked," he said. </p><p>“We've been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup, which has been incredibly disappointing because we know we're so, so much better than what we've shown out here. It's just been one of those tournaments where, yeah, it's just been a disaster. And there's no point sugarcoating it because it's probably what you're all going to write anyway, and it's true.”</p>