Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir hailed England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who shone with the bat and ball to help England draw their ongoing Test series against West Indies last week.
Stokes’s impact since cricket’s restart has been immense in both Test matches so far. In the second Test against the West Indies, the 29-year-old scored a measured but solid 176 and followed it up with a breezy unbeaten 78. He has been in fine form with the ball as well, bowling long spells and picking up crucial wickets.
“You can’t compare anyone in India at the moment with Ben Stokes,” Gambhir told Star Sports’s show Cricket Connected.
“....that is because Ben Stokes is in his own league. What he has done in Test cricket, what he has done in one-day cricket, what he has done in T20 cricket, I don’t think there’s anyone, let alone in India, who’s even close to him in world cricket at the moment.”
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Stokes also captained England in the first Test, ending up on the losing side. Over the past eighteen months, the Christchurch-born all-rounder has been in imperious touch. He was one of England’s stand-out performers as they became world champions last summer and he followed it up with heroics in the Ashes as well. His one-man show in the Leeds Test now frequently features in discussions as one of the great fourth innings knocks of all-time.
“And that is the kind of impact player you need in every line-up,” Gambhir added.
“It would be a dream for every captain to have someone like Ben Stokes – whether he’s batting, whether he’s bowling, whether he’s fielding – and he’s a leader in his own capacity.
“You don’t have to be a leader to be a leader, you don’t need to be called a captain to be a captain. You can be a leader by your own performances as well. So, I think there are a lot of guys who would be actually looking to be like Ben Stokes, but unfortunately, there’s no one at the moment in world cricket.”
Watch Gautam Gambhir talk about Ben Stokes here:
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