England all-rounder Chris Woakes confirmed that he is taking a break from cricket following the death of his father who passed away at the beginning of May.
Woakes, 35, has represented England in 203 international matches and has confirmed that he will remain away from cricket until the time is right as he will also not be travelling to the United States and West Indies for the T20 World Cup 2024.
He did not play in the county this season and despite being picked by Punjab Kings (PBKS), the 35-year-old did not feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Taking to his social media account, Woakes stated that the month of May was difficult for him and his family and he went on to request privacy for the time being.
"The last month has been the most challenging of my life when unfortunately my Dad passed away at the beginning of May,” Woakes wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"I've spent the last few weeks with the people most important to me, my family. We're all obviously grieving and trying to get through what is undoubtedly the hardest moments in our lives. It's times like this that perspective is at its greatest.
"I will be back playing cricket for Warwickshire, who my Dad loved dearly when the time is right for me and my family. I know playing cricket for Warwickshire and England made my Dad incredibly proud. look forward to doing that again in the near future."
Woakes was part of the England side that claimed their maiden 50-over World Cup in 2019 by beating New Zealand in the final and the team that won the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
His last match was in the International League T20 (ILT2) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Sharjah Warriors in February and he has, since then, been on the sidelines.
England’s squad for T20 World Cup
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley and Mark Wood.
