CWC 2023: Jos Buttler confirms Ben Stokes 'not fully fit' for England vs New Zealand curtain raiser

Ahead of the CWC 2023 opener, where defending champions England meet New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Thursday (October 5), Jos Buttler has confirmed that Ben Stokes isn't fully fit. On Wednesday (October 4), theEnglish captain revealed that the star batter hasa slight niggle with his hip and is working hard to recover in time.

Talking to the reporters in the pre-match presser, on Wednesday, Buttler told, "He's got a slight niggle with his hip. Fingers crossed that it'll be good news for us. He's working hard with the physios and we'll know more when the guys arrive for training today. We'll make the right call: if he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play."

Thus, Buttler has made it clear that Stokes will be included in the playing XI only if deemed fit by the medical team. England won't be looking to take any risk with the Test captain's fitness at the start of the marquee event in India. The 32-year-old Stokes recently came out of his ODI retirement to feature in the World Cup and, hence, his progress will be closely monitored by theteam management.

Meanwhile, New Zealand will be without regular captain Kane Williamson, and pacer Tim Southee, for the opener. In Williamson's absence, Tom Latham will lead the two-time runners-up.

If Stokes misses out, it will be a huge blow to England.The star cricketer has been in top form in the shorter format since his return. In the home series versus New Zealand, last month, the left-hander scored a majestic 182 --highest individualscore for Englandin ODIs. In addition, hewasadjudged the Player-of-the-Match when both sides last met in the 50-over World Cup, i.e. during the 2019 edition's final.

Stokes averages a healthy55.08 versus the Black Caps, with a hundred and four half-centuries.

England final squad for CWC 2023:

Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.

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