London, England – August 4: England Chris Woakes greets Mohammeda Siraj from India after the match on the day 5. On the 5th test match of Rothesay at Kia Ooval 4. August 2025 in London in England. (Photo: Gareth Coppley/Getty Images) England Sailor Chris Woakes, currently treated shoulder injury, supported Captain Ben Stokes’s attitude in the ongoing debate on “injury substitution” in the test cricket.
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India Wicketkeeper-Bater Rishabh Pant retired retired on the first day of the fourth test in Manchester, but the next day he returned to the bat, despite scanning a fracture on the right leg.The head coach of India Gautam Gambhir subsequently defended the introduction of compensation in tests – Stokes rejected the design as “absolutely ridiculous”.Interestingly, in the fifth test in the oval, England found itself in a similar situation where Woakes suffered a broken shoulder. Despite the injury, a bat with England came to nine goals down and needed less than 20 runs to win.“I’m with the stokes to be honest,” Woakes The Guardian said.“After playing 18 years old, the game is what it is – you lose players and as a team you have to find a way. It’s more resistant and the team stronger.”“I understand why people might feel that this is necessary in the case of injury like mine, but there would be too many gray areas and gaps.”
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Despite his injury, Woakekes’s bold decision on the bat has brought him extensive respect.“I think this is not the way you want to make the front page – it would be for five goals or century. Since then, there have been a lot of ascends and falls, but yeah, love from the public has helped,” he said.“It is so strange to go from the start of the test week to think:” One last pressure, “end up on the table of physio with a thinking what the future has.”
