Chris Woakes grieving father’s death, in prolonged absence from professional cricket
England all-rounder Chris Woakes made the shocking revelation of his father’s death which kept him out of action for the last three months of professional cricket.
Notably, Woakes was a part of the Punjab Kings’ squad in the Indian Premier League 2024 having been bought by the franchise for a whopping INR 4.20 Crore during the mini-auction in Dubai.
However, he didn’t make any appearance for the team throughout the season and was further not picked in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The all-rounder finally revealed the reason behind his absence to his fans on social media and shared the tragic news of his father’s demise.
“The last month has been the most challenging of my life when unfortunately my dad passed away at the beginning of May. 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,” wrote Woakes on his X account.
The 35-year-old hoped to return to professional cricket soon and begin playing for his county Warwickshire and England again.
“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. I look forward to doing that again in the near future,” he added.
Woakes’ last appearance for England
Woakes’ last appearance on the cricket pitch came during the International League T20 tournament in the UAE where he played for Sharjah Warriors. The all-rounder scored 47 runs and picked nine wickets during the tournament.
The Birmingham-born cricketer last played for England during the T20I series against the West Indies in December 2023. The 35-year-old didn’t have a memorable time in the series having scored just seven runs and picked four wickets from four games.
Notably, Waokes played a pivotal role in England’s 2-2 drawn Ashes series in 2023 where he was awarded Player of the Series for picking 19 wickets and scoring 79 runs from three games.