Ben Stokes reflects back at the infamous locker room incident which led to his ouster

After a premature exit from the 2015 World Cup, England has been thoroughly professional in limited overs cricket over the lats couple of years which has reflected in their results. One of the major reasons behind their great run is none other than all-rounder Ben Stokes who has been an integral member of the squad with his all-round abilities.

In the ongoing IPL, he has proved to be a match-winner for his franchise Rising Pune Supergiant and has won them matches with both bat and the ball. Just like his other teammates, Stokes went through a torrid time during 2014 and lost his place in the side after suffering a wrist injury. The shocking part though was that Stokes punched a metal locker in the changing room which led to his removal.

It was a matter of time before Stokes got himself settled and returned to the national team only to emerge as their best all-rounder. “Once you are passionate about something, it might come out in a wrong way. It (locker room incident) was an episode of stupidity. I learnt from it. I don’t punch in the locker room anymore. I realised that if I want to pursue what I love, I have to choose the right way,” Stokes said during a media gathering on Thursday.

Steve Smith too had to deal with anger issues

Captain Steve Smith is also an emotional character and lets his emotions flow. The Aussie captain who was involved in a series of banters with Team India captain Virat Kohli during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy conceded that he is learning to keep his emotions in check. “I am still trying and working on that. Being a captain is a difficult task. All the cameras are on you and you are being noticed. It’s not easy to perform with all the attention,” Smith said.

Road to playoffs

Rising Pune Supergiant is within touching distance of a playoff berth and is playing some good cricket over the past few matches.  Though they haven’t been the most dominant side so far, they have done enough to win matches. “We are on a winning run and have the chance to finish in the top two. The great thing is that we are not dependent on one or two guys. Majority of our players have performed,” Smith said.

“We are on a winning run and have the chance to finish in the top two. The great thing is that we are not dependent on one or two guys. Majority of our players have performed,” he further added.

Champions Trophy ambitions

The Aussie captain concluded by saying that IPL is an ideal tournament to play before an ICC tournament and though the format is different the class of the players remains the same.

“Playing in IPL is great ahead of the Champions Trophy. It is always good to play white ball cricket before such a big tournament. Though the format is different, we are playing with world-class players,” the Australia captain said.