3 reasons why England should drop Ben Stokes for their remaining 2023 World Cup games
Defending champions England has endured a horrific run in the ongoing ICC World Cup so far and the hero from 2019, Ben Stokes has been a shadow of himself in the three matches he has played so far.
England needed the big boys to step up against India but yet again, they had a batting collapse and were eventually skittled out for 129, chasing 230.
Stokes couldn't put to ball as Mohammed Shami was all over him and the swashbuckling southpaw was left scratching his head.
Shami kept hitting the length and moved away and into the left-hander from the same angle. His stumps eventually went for a cartwheel as he tried to take on Shami and was dismissed for a 10-ball duck.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels that the English team management has to take a few brave calls.
Dropping Ben Stokes for the remaining matches is one of them as Vaughan doesn't see Stokes as part of the 2027 World Cup.
Young guns like Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson have warmed the benches and Vaughan expressed his disbelief at the exclusion of Atkinson.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz after England's 100-run defeat, Vaughan voiced this sentiment and felt it's high time the England think tank gives opportunities to the players who can be the future superstars.
Brook and Atkinson did start the tournament but have been warming the benches for the last few matches.
"Ben Stokes doesn't play. You have to make that call. If the English management knows that Ben is not going to be a part of the next World Cup, he shouldn't play."
"Harry Brook should come in. Ben Stokes is not going to be playing in four years' time. So, you have to make that call. High-level sports is about being ruthless. It's not about the name or how powerful the players are," Vaughan said.
England still has three matches remaining and their next assignment will be against arch-rivals Australia on November 4. All is not lost for the defending champions as there is Champions Trophy qualification at stake.
They have to finish in the top seven to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy and for that to happen, they have to take a few harsh calls and dropping Ben Stokes could be one among them.
Let us now decipher 3 possible reasons why Stokes should be dropped for the remaining matches:
#1 Giving a chance to the youngsters
Stokes had announced his ODI retirement last year but made himself available for the World Cup in an attempt to defend the title for his nation.
He returned to the England ODI squad just before the World Cup and played a few stellar knocks. However, he has been nowhere close to his best in the ongoing World Cup.
He missed the first three matches due to a hip complaint and since his return, he has just scored 43 runs in three outings without any significant impact.
With England more or less out of contention, it is time to groom the younger players and give them the opportunity to play in the mega event.
# 2 Stokes hasn't lent the ideal balance which he usually does
Arguably the greatest all-rounder of the modern generation, Stokes has always been a lynchpin of the English white ball teams due to his all-round abilities.
However, Stokes hasn't bowled in the tournament so far which hasn't allowed England to play that extra batter or bowler depending on the conditions.
Over the years, Ben has been someone who has risen to the occasion and has bailed his side out of trouble from hopeless situations. However, he hasn't done justice to his big-game player tag in the World Cup.
# 3 He doesn't have a future in ODIs
The 2019 World Cup hero retired from the fifty-over format in July 2022. He clearly mentioned during his interview with Sky Sports that he wants to prolong his Test career and want to play as long as possible.
He was of the opinion that quitting ODI cricket and managing the workload was important in prolonging his career as a Test cricketer.
"That's what I want to do. I want to play 140, 150 Test matches for England. Giving one of the formats up has come a lot earlier that I would have liked it to, at 31 years of age, but there's a longevity that I've thought about.
"Hopefully when I'm 35 or 36, still playing Test cricket and T20 cricket, I can look back on this and say I'm very happy with the decision I've made," he had said.
While he did return for the World Cup but this could well be the final time we can see him in this format. If he doesn't want to prolong his ODI career, there is no point in sticking to him for the remaining three matches.