Stokes ‘hurting’ with how Pak series has unfolded, says McCullum
England head coach Brendon McCullum said captain Ben Stokes will be "hurting" after the 2-1 Test series defeat against Pakistan.
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen feels all-rounder Ben Stokes does not the additional burden of captaincy as of now. He stated that entertainers like Stokes do not always turn out to be the best cricket captains.
Pietersen picked Jos Buttler to be his captain as according to him Stokes should be allowed to continue to play the role of finishing off games without any added pressure.
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“Do I want to see Ben Stokes change from who he is and the current player he is? Probably not, Jos Buttler would be my guy,” Pietersen was quoted as saying by talkSPORT.
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“The entertainers and the guys that have to carry the mantle in the team sometimes aren’t the best captains and sometimes struggle with the extra added pressure.
“As a player you are looked at completely differently until that phone call comes and you are announced as the Test captain,” he added.
Pietersen recalled his own experience as a captain and remembered how he struggled with added responsibility.
“Responsibilities change, communication changes, the way in which you carry yourself in the dressing room changes,” Pietersen said.
“I struggled with it, I absolutely hated it and I was rubbish. You have to change and I couldn’t command the respect of the dressing room, you say something and it is frowned upon, it is a completely different story,” he added.
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