"Without Ben Stokes England can't win big KO matches" - Twitter reacts to the all-rounder opting out of 2024 T20 World Cup

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has opted out of the 2024 T20 World Cup to be played in the West Indies and U.S.A. in June.

Stokes was instrumental in helping England win the 2022 edition in Australia, scoring an unbeaten 52 off 49 in the final against Pakistan. Ironically, it was also his last T20I game for England.

Stokes announced his ODI retirement in 2022 but reversed the decision to participate in the 2023 World Cup in India. It led to the veteran delaying his knee surgery due to which he was able to bowl only in the final Test against India in the five-match series.

To regain full fitness and play as a complete all-rounder, Stokes will now miss two of the biggest T20 events in the cricketing calendar, the IPL (ongoing) and the World Cup.

The Durham cricketer has been England's star performer in crucial World Cup games and his absence could be detrimental as the side looks to defend their title from two years ago. Despite his big-match heroics, the all-rounder boasts a mediocre record at the T20 World Cups. He has a batting average of under 24 at a strike rate of 121.16 and has picked up only 10 wickets in 12 outings.

Fans on Twitter had a variety of reactions to the news of Ben Stokes' withdrawal from the marquee event. Here are some of the best ones:

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"Working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back" - Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes feels the recent India tour highlighted how far behind he was from bowling full tilt after knee surgery. He hopes to use the time off from the IPL and T20 World Cup to fulfill his role as an all-rounder for England in the future.

In a statement released by the ECB, Stokes said:

"I'm working hard and focusing on building my bowling fitness back up to fulfil a full role as an allrounder in all formats of cricket. Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the allrounder I want to be for the foreseeable future."

He added:

"The recent Test tour of India highlighted how far behind I was from a bowling point of view after my knee surgery and nine months without bowling. I'm looking forward to playing for Durham in the County Championship before the start of our Test summer. I wish Jos [Buttler], Motty [Matthew Mott] and all the team the best of luck in defending our title."

England have been in dismal form across formats over the past few months. They had a dismal 2023 World Cup campaign followed by ODI and T20I series losses in the West Indies and a Test series defeat in India.

They will begin their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign against Scotland at Barbados on June 4.