MS Dhoni
Glenn Maxwell
KL Rahul
Ricky Ponting
Sachin Tendulkar
Shreyas Iyer
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Abhishek Sharma
Hardik Pandya
Benjamin Andrew Stokes is an English cricketer. He dons the role of an all-rounder and serves as the captain of the England Cricket Team in the Test format.
Nicknamed “Stokesy”, Ben Stokes is 6 ft or 183 cm in height. His weight is currently unknown, but the ace player recently underwent a journey to trim down his weight. Reports claim that the England captain shed down 10kg by following a strict diet, cutting down on alcohol and heavy fitness regime to return to absolute fitness from his hamstring injury.
Ben Stokes was born in Christchurch in New Zealand. At a very young age, he moved to England. Since then, he has grown through the ranks and has represented the England across all three formats of the game.
While his birth origin in New Zealand, Stokes’ nationality is English and bears English citizenship. At the age of 12 years, he and his family shifted to England from New Zealand.
Ben Stokes was born on 4 June 1991 to parents Gerard Stokes and Deb Stokes. His father, Gerard James Stokes was a Rugby player in the 1970s and 1980s. On the other hand, his mother Deb Stokes specialises and works in homicide support for Victim Support.
Ben has a brother, James. He also has two half siblings who hails from his father’s pervious relationship. His sister Elysia who is a painter and an artist.
Stokes married Clare Ratcliffe in 2017. The couple has two children, son Layton, who was born in 2012. In 2014, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Liddy.
The England captain has been quite vocal and up front about his mental health struggles. He has been a staunch advocate for “It is OK to not be OK”. Stokes has publicly revealed about his fights and struggles with anxiety and panic attacks. He also revealed that he took a break from the sport in 2021 to look after his mental health. He also claimed taking medications to fight off anxiety and panic attacks.
Off the field, Stokes has showcased different hairstyles in his career. During his time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) he once game Ish Sodhi a haircut. Furthermore, Stokes also revealed that he experienced hair loss and underwent hair transplant.
Stokes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. When he was 12 years old, he and his family shifted to England after his father Gerard took up the role of head coach for the Workington Town rugby league club.
In England, he attended the Cockermouth School and developed an active interest in cricket while playing for the Cockermouth Cricket club. At just 15 years of age, he helped the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division win their title. Following which his family shifted back to Christchurch.
In 2009, he got his break when he made his List A debut for Durham. He also played a couple of youth Test matches against Bangladesh U19 squad. Stokes was then selected to play in the U19 World Cup 2010, and he managed to slam a century against India.
He made his first-class debut and County Cricket debut in 2010 for Durham. Three years later in 2013, Stokes helped Durham clinch the County Championship.
Ben Stokes’ domestic career began with Durham. However, in 2015 he went on to ply his trade in the Big Bash League of Australia for Melbourne Renegades. He joined the side to replace injured Jesse Ryder. In 2022 he once again returned to Durham. For the Hundred he has been a part of the Northern Superchargers ever since the inception of the league.
In the Indian Premier League, Stokes began his journey in 2017 when he was signed by Rising Pune Supergiant. Stokes wears his favourite jersey number 55 in franchise cricket. The next year he was bought by Rajasthan Royals and became the highest priced player in the 2018 IPL Auction. In 2022, he was signed by Chennai Super Kings.
The Three Lions skipper made his T20I debut on 23 September 2011 against the West Indies. The next month on he made his ODI debut against Pakistan. But for his Test debut, Stokes had to wait for 2 more years. He finally made his Test debut on 5 December 2013 against Australia in the Ashes.
He was a part of the England squad that won the ICC ODI World Cup in 2019 and was also named in the team of the tournament. One of the biggest highlights of his career came in 2019 Ashes where he slammed 135 runs unbeaten to chase down 359 runs set by Australia.
On 30 July 2021, Stokes announced his decision to step away from cricket. In 2022, he was appointed the captain of the England Team after Joe Root decided to let go of the captaincy.
On 18 July 2022, Stokes shocked the world when he announced of his decision to retire from the ODIs. He claimed injuries and fatigue from playing all three formats of the game to be reason from his retirement. However, a year later, on 16 August 2023, it was revealed that Stokes would make a U-turn on his ODI retirement and play in the ODI World Cup 2023.
Stokes played a crucial role in the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup finals as the Three Lions lifted the silverware. In 2024 he signed a 22-year central contract with the ECB. The latter half of 2024 was plagued with injuries as Stokes suffered a hamstring injury and thus didn’t take part in SA20 and the ICC Champions Trophy. He also withdrew his name from IPL 2025.
Like all fast bowlers, Stokes has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. In 2021, a finger injury saw him pull out of the IPL after having played just a solitary game. Previously, in 2015 he suffered a shoulder injury during a game against Pakistan.
In 2024 during a game against New Zealand, Stokes suffered a torn hamstring. He underwent the knife and made a comeback for his side in May 2025.
While injuries have been part of Ben Stokes’ career, his returns and comebacks too have been great. And a significant part for that lies in his ability to attain full fitness. Stokes lost 10 kgs after his hamstring injury to make a comeback.
He follows a strict routine of fitness. He even maintains a diet and has claimed to cut down on his alcohol consumption. As for his fitness regimes, Stokes follows a short, high-intensity sprint intervals to match up his pace for the game. He also likes to keep himself hydrated and has made quite a few dietary changes to complete his rehabilitation.
As per reports, it is estimated that Ben Stokes’ net worth in 2025 is set to be approximately around $13 million. During his stint in the IPL, he has amassed ₹80.75 with his latest being at CSK where he was bought for a sum of ₹16.25 crore in 2023.
Apart from that, Stokes also has a lucrative central contract from the ECB where he earns an estimated amount of £925,000 per year. Furthermore, numerous brand endorsements also help in increasing his net worth. The ace star also owns a luxurious 2.2 acre mansion in Durham which was priced at £1.7 million.
Year | Award | Issuer |
2019 | Wisden Leading Cricketer in theWorld | Wisden |
2019 | ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of theYear | ICC |
2020 | BBC Sports Personality of theYear | BBC |
Ben Stokes has been an avid philanthropist. Over the years he has helped and donated a huge sum of money as and when the need as arisen. He has supported the British Asian Trust in Jaipur which aims in ending child labour.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he ran a half-marathon to raise funds. He and the England team also donated £500,000. He also once donated his entire Test match fees for the Pakistan Flood Relief funds. He also supports the Chance to Shine which aims in promoting cricket among young children.
Ben Stokes is quite active on Instagram. His insta handle is @stokesy. On his social media platform, he boasts of having 3M followers to his name.
His recent post, a collaboration video with Indian batter KL Rahul sponsored by Red Bull went viral and the video has over 1 million views. Another post of his went viral right before the start of the Summer, where he posted a few of his training pics, ready to make a return after his injury. That post went on to garner 435K likes.
Ben Stokes’ nickname is “Stokesy”
In 2016 he hit the second fastest double century in Tests. He slammed the double ton in 163 balls against South Africa. This innings from Stokes came second in terms of fastness only behind Nathan Astle who slammed a 153 ball double ton against England.
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