The return of England’s prominent all-rounder, Ben Stokes, from his retirement in One Day Internationals (ODIs) has stirred significant discussions in the current cricket landscape. His decision to participate in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 has become a focal point of conversations within the cricketing community recently.
Stokes, who stepped back from One Day Internationals (ODIs) last year due to workload concerns, played a vital role in England’s historic victory in the 2019 ODI World Cup. His remarkable performance, notably his match-winning innings in the final against New Zealand, was a highlight of that competition.
Amid mounting anticipation about his likely return to ODIs, England formally announced that Stokes would be competing in the significant cricket competition slated to take place in India. Shortly after his inclusion in England’s first 15-member World Cup squad was confirmed, Stokes conveyed his sentiments about his ODI comeback through a Twitter tweet.
Stokes is slated to make his return during the forthcoming four-match ODI series against New Zealand, with England selecting an unchanged side.
In response to Stokes’ decision to end his ODI retirement, India’s prominent spinner, R Ashwin, took to his social media platform to compliment England’s captain, Jos Buttler. Ashwin commended Buttler for his persuasive efforts in encouraging Stokes to rejoin the ODI team for the major occasion. Ashwin highlighted that there was no way the great all-rounder would want to miss the biggest event of the year.
To add some background, earlier on his YouTube channel, R Ashwin had claimed that England’s limited-overs captain, Jos Buttler, although not especially outspoken, had taken it upon himself to encourage Stokes to reconsider his retirement decision and compete in the ODI World Cup 2023. Ashwin had mentioned that Buttler’s involvement in persuading Stokes was vital for the next multi-nation tournament.
“They will try their best to convince Ben Stokes to come out of retirement and play the ODI World Cup and it seems that responsibility has been given to Jos Buttler. It seems Buttler’s duty is to watch Ben Stokes, according to coach Matthew Mott. So Buttler is keeping an eye on Ben Stokes. Now it’s Buttler’s job to make Stokes available for the World Cup. And Buttler is not a man of many words. He hardly speaks. So my guess is that he will go to Ben Stokes and say, ‘Dude please join us. It will be really nice if you come out of retirement.’ Buttler won’t be outspoken. He will try his best,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
