Ben Stokes has been one of the world’s most dominating and astounding all-rounders in the world of cricket for the past few years. The player has been showcasing his ultimate gameplay in crucial matches like the World Cup but the past year has been a lot more like a juggling of responsibilities for the sportsman. The English all-rounder who announced his retirement from the 50 over limited format last year in July, was all set to manage his game in a completely different direction as the player was announced as the captain of the England Test team, two months prior. The player originally, aimed at retiring from the limited formats of the game in the beginning but being the most impactful and strongest all-rounder of the English team, the team didn’t allow the player to do so. Moreover, the team was also aware of the fact that the player would be required soon as the T20I World Cup was approaching.
Ben Stokes, who has been focusing on the Test format of the game, has shown some fabulous captaincy in the past year and has also shown a comeback in the recent Ashes series, in which the team was trailing by 2-0 but ended the series with a tie of 2-2 due to his decisions.
But the England ODI team, when announcing its 15-man squad for the ODI and T20I for the New Zealand series today, also announced to the world about the inclusion of Ben Stokes, who was included in the ODI squad. This decision announced the revival of Ben Stokes’s ODI career again which was in talks, among the England staff, Ben Stokes and management over the past few days. The player was also inclined towards joining the team but the player always favoured talking with the current ODI captain, Jos Buttler before announcing the decision.
Luke Wright the national selector shared his thoughts by saying “I am certain that every fan will enjoy seeing (Stokes) back in an England ODI shirt again.”
Ben Stokes who has played a phenomenal knock of 84 runs against New Zealand in the previous ICC ODI World Cup and a knock of 52 runs against Pakistan in the T20I World Cup the previous year has led England to positive results every time for the team. This news needs to be alarming for the competitors for this World Cup.
Ben Stokes who debuted for England against Ireland in 2011 has scored 2924 runs carrying an average of 38.98 and a strike rate of 95. Moreover, the player also carries a bag of 74 wickets in his hand which counts as one of the finest for the nation and in cricket.