Ace England Cricket Team star Ben Stokes can make a comeback into white ball cricket should head coach Brendon McCullum asks him. The southpaw previously retired from ODIs back in 2022 before making a U-turn decision. As for the T20Is, he last played back in the 2022 World Cup. However, with the ICC Champions Trophy, fast approaching, Stokes has expressed his desire to make a comeback into white ball cricket, if the Kiwi coach wants him.
Ben Stokes despite announcing his white ball retirement, pulled off a U-turn and played in the ODI World Cup 2023. But his last ODI match was in the tournament and hasn’t played a single ODI since. The same goes with T20Is, where he last played in the 2022 T20 World Cup held in Australia.
Ready for White-ball return?
Stokes cited burn out and heavy match schedule to retire from the limited formats of the game. But he didn’t take part in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, as he continued his recovery on his knee. And given that he has a very good relation with Brendon McCullum, Stokes can be open to make a comeback. However, the destructive southpaw has claimed that such conversations haven’t happened as of yet.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the white-ball team to experience what Baz has brought to the Test team. He’s an incredible coach who speaks with utter commitment, and it’s nice to have all three teams now with the same messaging and the same philosophies towards playing cricket,” Stokes told Sky Sports.
“If I get the call and [Baz] says, ‘do you want to come and play?’ Then obviously, it’s definitely going to be a yes, but I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t, because I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it. I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, and I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game. But to be honest, we’ve not even spoken about anything like that whatsoever. I think he’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the Test team,” he added.
What’s Next for Ben Stokes?
Ben Stokes his now gearing up for the Three-match Test series against Pakistan. With barely two weeks remaining, the two sides will lock horns for the 1st Test in Multan on 7th October. Having previously missed the Sri Lanka series, Stokes will be keen to play the series.
Often plagued by injuries, Stokes would also be wary not to exhaust himself for the series. “It was a hamstring tear that just sneaked into my tendon, so that’s why it’s taken a week or two longer, but my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets the all-clear, and we can start pushing it a bit more,” he added.
“There’s a lot more than just my hamstrings that I need to get back firing again, in terms of bowling, because you use everything,” he added. “So I need to get that all right to make sure that I don’t do any more damage to any other parts of my body,” Ben Stokes concluded.
