Ben Stokes wants game time in The Hundred ahead of India series despite COVID-19 risks

England all-rounder Ben Stokes believes it would be "frustrating" to stop English players from participating in the inaugural edition of The Hundred in order to shield them from COVID-19 disease ahead of the much-anticipated Test series against India. Stokes, while speaking to Daily Mail, said England players, including him, want to be part of The Hundred and if ECB stops them from doing so due to COVID-19, it would be "devastating". As per the report, the broadcast revenue for the India-England Test series is expected to be somewhere around £100 million and the ECB would want its best players to be fit for the encounter. 

The five-match Test series is slated to begin 13 days after the inaugural edition of The Hundred gets underway in England. Stokes has been selected to represent the Northern Superchargers franchise and his participation might get hindered if ECB decides to keep Test players out of the tournament.

Stokes said The Hundred is a massive event for England and they would all like to be part of it because players play a crucial role in making franchise competition big. The Hundred is scheduled to start on July 21 with a game between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals, the tickets for which have already been sold out. 

Stokes leading England's B-Team against Pakistan

Ben Stokes is currently leading England's ODI squad in a three-match series against Pakistan. Stokes was appointed the captain of a new-look side after the old ODI squad led by Eoin Morgan had to be isolated due to the COVID-19 outbreak inside England camp. A total of seven members from the old team returned positive results last week, which forced England to quarantine the entire squad and announce a new-look side for the pre-planned ODI series against Pakistan with Stokes as captain. 

The newly-assembled England side surprised the whole world after they managed to beat an experienced Pakistan team in the first two games of the series, thus sealing the three-match competition with a lead of 2-0. The England squad won both games comfortably as Pakistan's famed batting lineup, with the world's No. 1 ODI batsman as their captain, failed to cope up with the swing on England pitches. The third and final ODI is currently underway with Pakistan batting first after losing the toss. 

(Image Credit: AP)