IND vs ENG 2021: From "lame excuses" to "take care", Twitter divided over Ben Stokes taking a break for mental health

England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was last seen in action during the Hundred, has taken an indefinite break from cricket citing mental health reasons. Stokes has been playing continuous cricket for quite some time now. He has also suffered a finger injury recently, due to which he opted out of the series against Pakistan. However, due to a COVID-19 case emerging in the main team's bio-bubble, Stokes was picked as the captain of a fresh England squad.

The long bio-bubbles have been hard for all the players and there have been various cases of players pulling out of different series. It is completely understandable that Stokes has taken some time off to work on his mental health. While most people took this move in the right spirit and hoped Ben Stokes would return soon, there were some who claimed that Stokes was behind the money and did not want to play Test cricket.

Here are the mixed reactions from viewers on Ben Stokes pulling out of the India Test series.

"Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing."

We're all with you, Stokesy ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6HmEzmCxvw
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 30, 2021

Let’s see if @piersmorgan will right a column about Ben Stokes and how he is a snowflake for coming out about his mental health struggles.

Put it this way, if he doesn’t, the fella has clearly and evidently got a problem with young women of colour. Yeah I said it.
— LionelD (@iLionelD) July 30, 2021

Fair play Ben Stokes, I know sports people get paid well but they’ve had to go through constant bubble lives over the last 18 months.

Not seeing families etc, they are all human like the rest of us. This is why at present the Ashes shouldn’t go ahead imo.
— Mark Lavelle (@MarkLavs21) July 30, 2021

Ben Stokes out of India Series.
Major Setback for England Cricket... #ENGvIND
— Faheem Malik 🇵🇰 (@itsfaheem046) July 30, 2021

Normalize Mental Health issues for sportsmen. This pandemic has been tough for them. Wish you well Ben Stokes. https://t.co/AmIoMFxUq0
— Ansuman Rath 🇮🇳 (@_AnsumanRath) July 30, 2021

Ben stokes eas happy to play in the IPL and the 100 ... break could have been take at both them times, but he chose the ££ , says it all
— ...... (@paulfos11641080) July 30, 2021

Look after yourself legend, we’ll be waiting when you’re ready. Will always be Sir Ben Stokes to me 👑 https://t.co/7dUGDipAy5
— Cam (@Cambo1508) July 30, 2021

Imagine if Ben stokes was an indian,all those praising him for his call would be really bashing him,cricketers get trolled,trend after 2-3 bad performances in this country and then hypocrites talk about mental health
— Dhruv Garg (@DhruvGa22219803) July 30, 2021

hey @ben_stokes the bad boy.come back again.we will miss you💔
— ariyan evan (@ariyanevan2) July 30, 2021

stokes has announced a break from the india series,i am wondering when would mental health saga end for him,hes coming up with lime excuses over and again to skip longer versions.#engvind #benstokes #trentbridge
— abdul-rehman afghan (@afghanstleonard) July 30, 2021

Losing Ben Stokesa big setback for England in the series against india

The India versus England series is a much awaited one. The Indian team has been on a roll in the last two years and the loss in the World Test Championship final will motivate them to regain their dominance. In this situation, the absence of Ben Stokes is a big setback for the England team.

Stokes has been a key player for England in all three formats of the game. Speaking of Test cricket, the all-rounder played a vital role in helping England draw the Ashes 2-2. In 2019, Stokes was averaging 45.61 with the bat while he bettered it with 58.27 in year 2020. Besides this, he is very handy with the ball and has the knack of picking up crucial wickets.

The India-England Test series is set to begin on August 4. Stokes, who has taken an immediate break, will not take part in the rest of the Hundred or in the upcoming tour. IPL 2021 is set to resume on September 19 and fans would be hoping that Stokes can make a comeback by then. However, mental health is very important and he is the only person who can take the call to return to cricket.