Stokes drops a hint he could come out of ODI retirement for 50-over World Cup next year: Report

Rawalpindi:  England Test skipper Ben Stokes has not ruled out the possibility of coming out of One-day International retirement in defence of the 50-over World Cup in India next year.

Stokes played a key role in Jos Buttler’s side lifting the T20 World Cup in Australia recently, which have prompted calls for the all-rounder to come out of retirement as England look to retain the trophy they won at home in 2019. Stokes helped England win the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s in 2019.

He had smashed an unbeaten 84 during the 2019 50-over World Cup final at Lord’s as England lifted the trophy defeating New Zealand on boundary count after the match ended in a tie.

Stokes had announced his retirement from One-day International cricket in July this year because of the pressure of playing all three formats and had reportedly walked away recently when the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Rob Key had tried to talk him out of retirement.

But after a stirring performance in the T20 World Cup in Australia, Stokes has admitted during the build-up to the inaugural Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi that he didn’t know “how I might feel” about the possibility of defending the title he helped win in dramatic fashion at Lord’s in 2019, reports Daily Mail.

“Keysy (Rob Key) pulled me to the side in the UAE (during training ahead of the Test series against Pakistan) and as soon as he said 50-over World Cup, I just walked away,” Stokes was quoted as saying.

“Who knows? At the moment, being out here, my focus is solely on this series (in Pakistan). But it’s one of those things. Who knows how I might feel towards a (50-over) World Cup at the time. Going to a World Cup is amazing thing to do, to represent your country. But at the moment I’m not even thinking about that,” said Stokes.

–IANS