"I'm probably going to have to think about" - Ben Stokes on his ODI future after England finish 2023 World Cup with a win
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that he has to think 'hard' about his future in ODI cricket, given the workload as a Test captain. However, the 32-year-old hasn't completely ruled out as he predicts his body to be in a better position than it has been in the last 18 months.
Stokes has been battling a knee injury which kept him out of the first three matches of the 2023 World Cup. The seam-bowling all-rounder, who reversed his ODI retirement for the World Cup, finished with 304 runs in 6 matches at 50.67.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Stokes reflected that he has big responsibilities with the Test team; hence, his future with the One-day team is a massive talking point.
"I think to answer that one it goes back to my initial reason for stepping away from this format, to ease my workload. As Test captain, there is a lot of stuff coming up. There's a lot of stuff that I want to do with that Test team. It will be a decision that I'm probably going to have to think about, quite hard, to produce an outcome. You never know the body might be in a lot better position than it was in the last 18 months."
The Durham all-rounder was especially magnificent in the last three games, making scores of 64, 108, and 84. His only World Cup hundred came against the Netherlands in Pune.
"Everybody knows the class that the dressing room has" - Ben Stokes
Despite England's failure to defend their title, the Test captain stated that the backroom staff is exceptional, but suggested that rebuilding with the new generation of players is on the horizon.
"When you look at the personnel that we have available it is very, very exciting and it's very, very good. In terms of this group, that's a decision that isn't up to me. But I think everybody knows the class that the dressing room has. I think they'll just have to do some kind of discussion, from the top, and see where people go."
The Englishmen closed out their 2023 World Cup campaign with a 93-run victory over Pakistan on Saturday in Kolkata.