Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes Ben Stokes will be "hurting for a long time" after being torn apart in the World Twenty20 final by Carlos Brathwaite.
Stokes bowled the last over against the West Indies - who needed 19 to win - and saw Brathwaite bash him for four consecutive sixes which saw England's title hopes disappear at Eden Gardens.
It was a devastating end to an impressive tournament for Stokes and Vaughan says the burly all-rounder will inevitably lose sleep over the coming days.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Vaughan said: "Ben Stokes will be hurting for a long time.
"Some will say he is a tough lad and will get over it. Yes, he is strong but he is human too and it is going to be a while before he recovers from what happened in the final over.
"But now they just need to let the dust settle then sit down with Ben to assess mentally what went wrong.
"Only he knows the answer. He has to be open and honest with himself and admit 'this is what I was thinking' and just try to learn from the experience.
"He will lose sleep for days going over it in his mind, asking: 'Why didn't I do something different?' I have respect for anyone who bowls the last over in a final. It takes real guts.
"The good thing is that Stokes is young and has experienced highs and lows in his career already so he will be able to handle this in time.
"He will mull over what he should have done differently. A wide yorker or slower-ball bouncer perhaps? His first ball was a bad delivery and that is when momentum shifted. It put huge pressure on the next ball."
Current captain Eoin Morgan promised that the entire England squad would rally round Stokes in the aftermath of the four-wicket defeat and Vaughan - Test match skipper between 2003 and 2008 - backed the move.
"As a captain you try to talk from the heart to someone in Stokes' position and put an arm around the shoulder," he added.
"You tell them they will be back stronger for the experience. But Stokes is not the sort of lad to take that kind of stuff. He will be spewing for a long while so you have to allow him time to hurt. I am afraid that is high-level sport."
Source: PA
