Ben Stokes set to come out of retirement for ODI World Cup
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England Test captain and the world's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes is reportedly planning to come out of his retirement to play for England in the 2023 One Day International (ODI) World Cup in India, according to recent reports.
However, it has also been reported that he may skip the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"Ben Stokes is prepared to make a sensational U-Turn and reverse his one-day international retirement to help England's World Cup defense in India this year, even if it means missing out on next season's Indian Premier League. The England Test captain now appears willing to play World Cup if he is asked by white-ball captain Jos Buttler," a leading English newspaper reported.
Five-test series against India will start on January 25 and end on March 11 next year. If Stokes plays two months of IPL till the end of May, then he would be spending close to five months in India, which might not be feasible for him.
At some point, he is also expected to undergo a knee surgery and the IPL window seems the best time considering he can return to competitive cricket and continue leading England in years to come. Missing the next season's IPL will provide a gap in his schedule to help him recover from the surgery, which might be the reason why he gave up his Rs 16 crore annual IPL deal with CSK.
England will start their campaign on October 5 in Ahmedabad against New Zealand and the 32-year-old Stokes, who has played 105 ODIs for his country before retiring from the format last year, might just come out for one tournament to help Buttler's side regain the trophy it won in 2019.
"Stokes is likely to bat in the middle order for the England ODI side. Amid fears of how much bowling he could do, England is prepared to pick him as a specialist batsman, replicating the role he performed at stages during this summer's Ashes series," a report stated.
Commenting on the speculations, England batsman Ollie Pope said, “Ben Stokes is someone who loves playing for England. He is a player that any England team is lucky to have on its side. Any team that has a Ben Stokes is a better team. If these rumours are true, I think he is going to have an amazing tournament.”
With inputs from PTI