He has batted in the nets twice since England arrived in Dharamsala, moving much more freely when he faced spinners on Monday morning than he did when batting against sidearm throws on Sunday afternoon. But he is a major doubt for Tuesday’s game, with England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday framing as a potential comeback.

Stokes had initially planned to spend these two months resting his knee but confirmed in August that he had changed his mind. “The words ‘World Cup’ are pretty inspiring,” he said. “The idea of going in and potentially being able to win back-to-back World Cups was one of the big things.”

“It’s definitely an option,” Buttler said, when asked about the possibility of picking an extra seamer. “I played here in the IPL just gone, and there can be some good pace and bounce in the wicket. So certainly, we’ll have those discussions and we’ve got fantastic options within the squad to pick different line-ups with a different balance. It’s something we’ll consider.”