Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that Ben Stokes did not want to function in a depleted capacity in all three formats. However, Stokes recently announced his retirement from ODI cricket and played his last game on Tuesday (July 19) which ended in a 62-run loss to South Africa in Durham as well.

Meanwhile, he chose to retire from ODIs after claiming that he is unable to give 100 percent to that format as well. Recently appointed captain of the Test team, Stokes has chosen to divert his focus to the rest two formats instead of the 50-over game. And, opining that Ben Stokes wants to function at his best and avoid a drop in performance levels like Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, Nasser Hussain wrote for his column in the Daily Mail: “Some might suggest 80% of Stokes is enough but the problem is that once you play at 80%, it can lead lead to a drop in performance in another format. Just look at what has happened to Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, for example. He doesn’t want to become stale.”

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However, Ben Stokes had a forgettable outing in his last ODI for England. Playing on his home ground, he gave away 44 runs in five overs with the ball. Later on, while coming out to bat in the chase of 334, he departed for just five runs after missing out on a reverse sweep off Aiden Markram. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes was rested for the T20I series against India before being recalled for the ODI series as well.

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Nasser Hussain further wrote: “Compared to years gone by, when he was fully fit, Tuesday was drastically different. After a couple of balls he was limping off towards the side of the pitch, not fully maintaining his momentum through the crease and down it.”