(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] England captain and wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler said that the team has many other players besides from Ben Stokes to rely upon.
Defending champions England got a setback ahead of the first match as their proven match winner and the 2019 World Cup final Player of the Match, Stokes, missed out on the game due to a hip injury.
In the opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, England had to face a humiliating defeat against New Zealand by nine wickets.
However, Buttler denied the fact that England lost the match due to the absence of their star batter Stokes and mentioned that all the players in the squad are perfectly capable of making contributions on any given day.
“I think Ben (Stokes) a top player but we’ve got many top players. I think everyone in the team got into double figures and we didn’t have enough guys go on and make telling contributions. It’s not just Ben who is able to score runs in our team. We’ve got brilliant players right throughout the squad,” Buttler was quoted as saying by Reuters.
England will play their next two matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan on 10th and 15th of October at Dharamsala and Delhi respectively. Stokes is expected to make his return to the playing XI.