ENG vs IND 2025: Chris Woakes backs Ben Stokes’ view on injury replacements

Chris Woakes has concurred with Ben Stokes‘ view regarding injury replacements in Test cricket. He stated that the teams could potentially misuse the rule of having injury substitutes to their advantage as there would be “too many grey areas or loopholes”. Woakes’ comments came after he batted with a dislocated shoulder in the fifth Test of the recent series against India.   

“I’m with Stokesy, to be honest. Having played for 18 years, the game is what it is: you lose a player and as a team you have to find a way. It makes you more resilient and the team stronger. I do understand why people might think it’s needed for freak injuries like mine but there would be too many grey areas or loopholes,” Woakes was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

The all-rounder also commented on how unpredictable the past few days have been for him. “I mean, it’s not the way you want to be front-page news, you’d rather it was for five wickets or a century. There have been a lot of ups and downs since but yeah, the love from the public has helped. It is so weird to go from the start of a Test week, thinking ‘one last push’, to ending up on a physio’s table wondering what the future holds.”

For the unversed, Stokes’ remarks regarding injury replacement had come in response to Gautam Gambhir advocating for such a new regulation after Rishabh Pant came out to bat despite injuring his right foot in India’s first innings of the fourth Test.

In the subsequent match, an injury setback to Woakes meant that England had to manage with only three pacers in their second innings. They eventually lost six runs, with India drawing level at 2-2.