Ben Stokes shares gory selfie; brutal face injury picture sets internet ablaze

Ben Stokes shares bloody and gory selfie on Instagram [Source: Instagram]While the England cricket team have stationed itself at the base to begin their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, Test captain Ben Stokes shared a gruesome update that shook his fans and followers. Stokes posted a graphic image of himself injured, with blood oozing from his wounds. While the update has minimal relation to the team’s ongoing World Cup campaign, it raised serious concern as Stokes’ injury looked awful and could have potentially led to multiple other complications. Ben Stokes injures himself after Ashes 2025-26 campaign It has been a month since The Ashes 2025–26 tour ended for the England team, and after returning empty-handed from Australia, Ben Stokes found himself bruised and hurt. In the series, Stokes was impactful with the ball, picking up 15 wickets from his eight innings. He bowled at an economy rate of 3.73 while striking at 40.00. However, he was not as effective with the bat. Ben Stokes managed only 184 runs from his 10 innings as his team lost the series 4–1. Nevertheless, it seems the loss led Stokes to train even harder, which may have resulted in him injuring himself. In his Instagram story, Ben Stokes shared a graphic image of his face after being hurt by a cricket ball. In the selfie he shared, his right eye was heavily swollen and bruised, there was a graze on his cheek that had turned blackish-blue, and his lip was injured, with a bandage stuffed in his nose and visible blood marks on his face. Ben Stokes selfie on Instagram [Source: Instagram]The disturbing selfie was captioned by Ben Stokes as, “You should see the state of the cricket ball,” which implied both the cause and consequence of the incident. What happened to Ben Stokes?As seen in the image, there could be multiple reasons behind Ben Stokes’ injury. The primary reason could be that he was hit on the face by the ball after a net batter struck a shot while he was bowling. Another possibility is a failed attempt at a high catch where the ball may have slipped. Another, though less likely, scenario could be that he was hit by a bouncer delivery during net practice while batting. He may not have been wearing a helmet, which could explain the severity of the facial bruising. While the exact reason was not clarified by Stokes himself, it was evident that the cricket ball had taken some serious punishment. England safe even after Stokes injuryNevertheless, to the relief of England cricket fans, Stokes’ next assignment is scheduled against New Zealand in June 2026. With almost a four-month window to recover, he is likely to be fit again after suffering this gruesome injury. For now, the Ben Stokes-less but Harry Brook-led England team will look to have a successful T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, starting with their opening clash against Nepal on February 8.