England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler praised “superstar” Ben Stokes following his decision to retire from ODI. The England Test captain announced his retirement from 50-over cricket last summer due to stress and a knee injury. England will play the Black Caps in four T20s before the same number of ODIs start next month in Cardiff, and Buttler said he was “delighted” to have Stokes back.
“It’s excellent news on all fronts, it’s great for cricket to have a superstar like Ben Stokes at a World Cup,” Buttler told Skysports.
“You want to see those players on those big showpieces, so it’s fantastic that he has made himself available. When a player of that caliber is available again, it’s actually a no-brainer that you want him back in your team.” said the England captain. said.
“You look at the impact he has in every game he plays, but especially in the last few World Cups he’s been the man in the middle at the crucial moment. We’re happy to have him back, it’s not just about the cricket.” but everything else he brings to the group,” he added.
Stokes was instrumental in England’s 50-over World Cup victory in 2019, hitting an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand before playing alongside Buttler in the Super Over.
He will return to the ODI squad as a specialist batsman, according to Buttler, who added that Stokes made his decision after the Ashes series ended.
“Ben and I caught up during the IPL, had some good talks about what he wanted to achieve this year, so he came to me and said the Ashes are his main priority, but if he could get through that physically he would do that.” I would like to qualify for the World Cup,” he said.
“So I just left it at that and said after the Ashes let me know how you feel. We talked afterwards, he said he would be available as a batsman and that was enough for me to just say ‘brilliant’ .” Can’t wait to have you back,” Buttler added.
The T20I series kicks off at Riverside Ground in Durham on Wednesday. The four-game T20I series is followed by an ODI series, also consisting of four games.
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