England captain Ben Stokes was spotted bowling ahead of the second Test against India in Vizag. The Three Lions registered an incredible 23-run win in the opening game of the five-match series thanks to major contributions from Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley in the second innings in Hyderabad.
Also Read: England name Playing XI for second Test against India
Stokes hasn't rolled his arm around in professional cricket since the 2023 Ashes series at home. Th e England all-rounder had some issues with his knee and underwent surgery before heading to India for the five-Test series. But now with Stokes nearing 100% fitness, the Southpaw was spotted bowling at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
Ben Stokes bowls ahead of 2nd Test against India
The English Test captain recently also revealed that he will gradually begin "low-impact bowling" in the nets. Speaking to the press, Stokes, as quoted by the Telegraph, said, "You will see me bowl tomorrow. I did say that this trip is a back-to-bowling programme for me."
"You have seen me do a lot of running and that has been part of it. Tomorrow is just the start of low-impact bowling, get the rest of my body going again and just gradually keep building that up. I won’t be bowling in the game. It is a lot easier [not bowling]. But I am looking forward to getting back into it."
England playing XI for 2nd Test against India
Talking about the second Test, England have made two changes. Uncapped off-spinner Shoaib Bashir replaced Jack Leach while James Anderson was drafted to replace Mark Wood.
England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
Follow: PSL Live Score 2024