England's Test captain Ben Stokes revealed that he has stopped drinking alcohol during his ongoing hamstring injury rehabilitation in an effort to be battle-ready for the upcoming India series and the Ashes down under.

The 33-year-old said he gave up drinking at the start of the year in the hope that self-discipline would help him recover quickly from the injury.

Stokes underwent a surgery on his left hamstring last December after sustaining a tear during the third Test against New Zealand, which ruled him out of action for an extended period.

"After my first major injury, I remember the shock of it and after the initial adrenaline had stopped I was thinking, 'How has this happened?'" Stokes said while speaking on the Untapped podcast.

"(I thought) 'We did have a bit of a drink four or five nights ago, could that have played a part?' It wouldn't have helped.

"Then I was like 'OK, I need to start changing what I do'." Stokes tore his hamstring while playing in The Hundred last season and suffered the same injury during the Test tour of New Zealand.

"I don't think I'll ever be completely sober, but I've not had a drink since January 2. I said to myself: 'Not until I finish my injury rehab and get back on the field'."

Ben Stokes, who recently signed a deal with zero alcohol spirits company CleanCo, is set to make his comeback on Thursday (May 22) in England's one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge.

(With PTI Inputs)