Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that England’s limited-overs captain, Jos Buttler, will take on the task of convincing Ben Stokes to reconsider his decision to retire from One Day International (ODI) cricket. Stokes, the prominent England all-rounder, is reportedly considering reversing his retirement to aid his team in defending their ODI World Cup title, even if it means missing the next Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Stokes played a pivotal role in England’s victory in the 2019 ODI World Cup, contributing a crucial 84-run innings in the final against New Zealand. He replicated this performance in the 2022 T20 World Cup Final, scoring an unbeaten 52 runs to help England secure the title against Pakistan.
Ashwin highlighted the responsibility that Buttler holds in persuading Stokes to come out of retirement for the upcoming multi-nation tournament.
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“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,” said Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
He further elaborated that Buttler, known for his reserved nature, will approach Stokes in a subtle manner.
“…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,” Ravichandran Ashwin explained.
Regarding Stokes’ initial ODI retirement, Ashwin acknowledged his desire for workload management but emphasized his significance to the England team in the World Cup context.
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“Will Stokes come out of retirement? The main reason why he retired from ODIs is workload management. He said he can’t keep playing all the time, he has issues with his knee. That was the whole point of retiring from one format. But England know how crucial he will be for them in the World Cup,” Ravichandran Ashwin commented.
