England all-rounder Ben Stokes has shocked the cricketing world as he announced an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect and withdrew from the England Test squad for the upcoming five-match series against India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that Stokes has taken a break from cricket to prioritize his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger, which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this month. 

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"Ben has shown tremendous courage to open up about his feelings and wellbeing. Our primary focus has always been and will continue to be the mental health and welfare of all of our people. The demands on our athletes to prepare and play elite sport are relentless in a typical environment, but the ongoing pandemic has acutely compounded this,” said Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Ashley Giles.

"Spending significant amounts of time away from family, with minimal freedoms, is extremely challenging. The cumulative effect of operating almost continuously in these environments over the last 16 months has had a major impact on everyone's wellbeing. Ben will be given as long as he needs, and we look forward to seeing him playing cricket for England in the future,” he added.

ECB has named Craig Overton as a replacement for Ben Stokes in England Test squad for the India series.

(ECB.co.uk inputs)