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Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was not surprised by Ben Stokes taking a U-turn on his ODI retirement ahead of the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. Ashwin felt it was imminent, considering Stokes' contributions to England's victorious campaign at ODI World Cup in 2019.
Stokes has been the player of the match in the final on both occasions (ODI and T20) when England won a World Cup over the past few years. He bid adieu to the 50-over format in 2022, citing workload issues to concentrate and prolong his career in the other two formats. However, the English team management recently communicated with him about a potential return to the side for the upcoming marque event, where they enter as defending champions.
It paved the way for the all-rounder's comeback into the ODI team as selectors named him in the squad for the series against New Zealand, viewing it as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
Ravichandran Ashwin reacted to the exciting development through a post on his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle. He wrote:
"So, Jos Butler’s dialogue with Ben Stokes worked like magic. #2023WC #stokes. No way he was going to miss the marquee event of the year."
England ODI squad for the New Zealand series:
Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
The lure of the World Cup is just too strong: Michael Atherton on Ben Stokes' comeback
Former England captain Michael Atherton reckoned that the appeal of prestigious tournaments like the ODI World Cup enticed Ben Stokes to withdraw his retirement from 50-over cricket. He opened up that it was great news for English cricket as his inclusion would boost the chances of their title defense.
In a conversation with Sky Sports, Atherton said:
"Great news for England and their fans who'll be delighted to see such a great cricketer comeback. He retired last July citing an unsustainable schedule, issues with his knee and wanting to focus on his role as Test captain. But the lure of the World Cup is just too strong."
He added:
"They've picked him as a batter so clearly there's concerns about his bowling but they've not picked him as a bowler. They made that pretty clear when Luke Wright stated that in his press conference after the squad announcement."
Do you think Ben Stokes' return at Harry Brook's expense is the right call? Sound off in the comments section.
