Ben Stokes accused of 'poor captaincy' as cricket fans blast England star following nightmare India start

Ben Stokes accused of 'poor captaincy' as cricket fans blast England star following nightmare India start

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as England struggle against India

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 25/01/2024

- 11:32

The Three Lions have struggled during the first day of the Test series

England cricket fans have criticised Ben Stokes after the Three Lions lost all three of their reviews against India inside just 13.1 overs on Thursday.

The tourists posted 246 from their innings, having recovered from 137-6, with their skipper playing a key role in that comeback.


Stokes scored 70 runs from just 88 balls, helping England save face having initially faced a humiliating day ahead.

But England have struggled with the ball so far, with India passing 100 runs with just one wicket conceded at the close of play.

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes impressed with the bat for England against India but his decision-making has riled fans online

GETTY

With the visitors struggling to break India's resolve, England reviewed three decisions during the early embers of the match.

However, they were unsuccessful on all occasions - with India dominating the first day as a result.

And England cricket fans have now criticised Stokes and accused the 32-year-old of bad decision-making.

"Stokes getting exposed," said one user on X.

A second said: "I thought Rohit was being ridiculous losing all reviews by 50 overs, Stokes has outdone him!!"

A third fan said: "Stokes thinks that he is Virat Kohli."

A fourth fumed: "Poor captaincy by Ben Stokes."

A fifth weighed in by raging: "Shame on chokes (Stokes)."

And a sixth said: "Who finishes they reviews in 15 overs in a Test match bruh Ben Stokes is a madman."

England clearly have plenty of work to do if they're to turn their situation around, with improvement with bat and ball both required in equal measure.

There was controversy before the match even started, too, with Stokes admitting England briefly considered not travelling to India.

The hosts reportedly refused to grant a visa to Shoaib Bashir, who was born in Surrey and is of Pakistani descent.

Bashir has a meeting scheduled with the Indian High Commission to resolve the issues so he can travel to the country and link up with the rest of the squad.

And Stokes said beforehand that England were furious and considered pulling out of the series as a result.

“When I first found the news out in Abu Dhabi, I did say we shouldn’t fly until Bash gets his visa," he revealed.

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Ben Stokes England

Ben Stokes has been criticised by some fans with England struggling during the opening day of India Test series

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“But that was a little bit tongue in cheek. I know it’s a way bigger thing than doing that.

"That was probably just emotions around the whole thing. I’m pretty devastated that Bash has had to go through this.

“As a leader, as a captain, when one of your team-mates is affected by something like that, you get a bit emotional.

"I know he’s back in London and a lot of people are jumping through hoops to try and get this through quicker.

“Hopefully, we’re going to see him here over the weekend.

England India

England have plenty of work to do with India the better side during the opening day of their Test match

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"There was never a [realistic] chance that we were ever not going to travel around this but Bash knows he’s had our full support.”

England struggled during their last trip to India.

They lost that series 3-1 in 2021, with the hosts playing some excellent cricket as they secured victory.

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