4 players who can replace injured Chris Woakes in the India vs England series
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Monday that talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Chris Woakes will miss the remainder of the One Day International series with Australia. Stokes' hamstring injury — which happened ahead of the second Test with Pakistan —is progressing well towards recovery, and the 27-year-old is sure to be fit for the T20 series with India next month. Woakes, on the other hand, injured a thigh muscle during the second Test with Pakistan which the ECB say "was at least in part due to a flare-up of a chronic right knee problem".
"He (Woakes) has had an injection for the knee issue last Monday and will now undertake a rehabilitation and conditioning programme to address both injuries," read the ECB statement.
"A date for return cannot be specified at this stage, but he will not be available before the India ODI series."
Here’s looking at 5 possible replacements for Woakes in the T20I series against India.
#4 Harry Gurney
The 25-year-old left-arm fast-medium bowler made his international debut in 2014 against Scotland in a one-day international. He has played 10 ODIs and 2 T20Is for his national side, in which he has 11 and 3 wickets respectively. Gurney has been one of the star performers for Nottinghamshire in county cricket. In 97 first-class games, he has 289 wickets!
After being successful in 2014, Gurney failed to make it to the world cup squad in 2015 and soon faded away. However, his exploits in the county championship can earn him a national recall, at least among the 15 members of the team, if not in the playing XI.