England vs India: Ben Stokes-return lands Eoin Morgan and Co in selection riddle

Prior to England’s second Test versus Pakistan at Headingley, Ben Stokes, one of their star all-rounders, suffered a hamstring strain owing to which he was ruled out of the match. He also wasn’t included for their ODI against Scotland. To add to his woes, he didn’t find a place in the ODI and T20I squad for the Australia series. The 27-year old was also left out of the ongoing T20I series versus India.

However, he recovered in time and was named in the ODI squad, which will play the Men in Blue in a week’s time. To multiply his joy, he also was named in the team for the final T20I to be played today at the County Ground in Bristol. While his return is likely to strengthen the English lineup, it’s most certainly to make things tough for Eoin Morgan as far as selecting the final eleven is concerned.

“Alex always makes it difficult”- Morgan

“Ben comes into the squad for the next game. He is a fantastic player and it will be a difficult decision to make. We’ve made calls like this in the past and it’s for the betterment of the team and we would try and put out our strongest eleven,” Morgan was quoted as saying in the pre-match press conference.

As Stokes returns, the axe might come down on Alex Hales, but his stupendous knock at the Sophia Gardens makes him a strong contender for the upcoming match as well. The right-hander scored 58 runs to see his team through glory and also helped his team draw level in the series.

“Alex always makes it difficult, particularly in T20 cricket. He’s played a lot for us this season, one of our highest run-scorers. He is a very experienced campaigner and in an innings like that tonight makes him a very strong case in the next match,” the skipper added.

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