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England's Test skipper and star all-rounder Ben Stokes will be skipping the upcoming T20I series against South Africa which is set to begin from July 27.
Stokes has been rested from the home series as part of the team's workload management.
Stokes, who is currently playing the ODI series against India, however will feature in the 50-over games against South Africa beginning July 19.
The 31-year-old will also miss the upcoming edition of the Hundred, which is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday, August 3. It has been learned that the decision to rest Stokes was taken to manage his fitness and workload.
"To manage the workload and fitness of England Men's Test captain Ben Stokes, he will not feature in the Vitality IT20 series and The Hundred competition, which is due to start next month," the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in a statement on Friday.
Stokes' Durham team-mate Matthew Potts has been called up to the England limited-overs squad for the first time after impressing in all four of England's Test matches this summer.
Stokes is currently taking part in the three-match ODI series against Rohit Sharma’s India, where he hasn’t been able to make much of an impact. In two matches, Stokes has scored only 21 runs and bagged a duck in the opening game at the Kennington Oval in London.
The 30-year-old struggled with a knee problem during England's tour of the West Indies in March.
A scan showed no new injury, but the Durham all-rounder missed the start of the County Championship season as he attempted to manage the issue.
He also took a break from cricket last summer and missed the T20 World Cup in the autumn to prioritise his mental wellbeing and rest a finger injury.
England’s ODI squad v South Africa:
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey.
England’s T20I squad v South Africa:
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey.
