Cricket World Cup 2023: Ben Stokes Ruled Out, Kane Williamson's Return, and New Zealand's Strong Start.
Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 starting from the initial matches as England begins their title defense. The star all-rounder played a pivotal role in England's incredible victory in the final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, but due to Kohli's injury issue, he won't feature in the match against New Zealand. Stokes has been struggling with a long-standing knee issue, and he had contemplated taking a break from ODIs to focus on his role as a specialist batsman for England's World Cup campaign in India. The 32-year-old has not played any competitive matches since his outstanding performance, scoring 182 runs in an ODI win against New Zealand on September 13. Stokes, who was the only member of England's World Cup team to participate in the practice match against Bangladesh, will not take the field as he is dealing with an injury sustained while firing a shotgun during a shop event. England's captain Jos Buttler stated after