“Alarm bells have been ringing for some time” - Mark Taylor opens up on Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement 

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor has stated that cricket administrators around the world should be worried about Ben Stokes' decision to retire from ODIs at the age of 31. According to Taylor, the alarm bells have been ringing for some time and more players could follow in Stokes’ footsteps in the near future.

England’s 2019 ODI World Cup-winning all-rounder took the cricketing fraternity and fans by surprise on Monday (July 18), announcing that he had decided to retire from the 50-over format. The proven match-winner attributed his decision to the crammed schedule, which he termed as “unsustainable” for him.

Reacting to Stokes’ premature ODI retirement, Taylor told Wide World of Sports:

"I think alarm bells have been ringing for some time, to be brutally honest. The issue is where the game is at with three international formats, then all the domestic T20 leagues, headed up by the IPL which is huge."

The Aussie legend elaborated that the growing influence of cash-rich T20 leagues also plays a part in such key, career-defining decisions. He explained:

"Players like Ben Stokes are in high-demand, and given they're very well paid by the T20 competitions, eventually something has to give. The unfortunate reality is it's usually one form of international cricket that has to give.”

The 57-year-old admitted that more players could follow Stokes’ path if the authorities in charge fail to balance out the cricketing calendar. Taylor added:

"The writing is on the wall for a lot of cricketers, given there's three forms of international cricket, but then the domestic T20 format has so many options with the different leagues around the world. Players have the potential to have four or five employers at any one time, and you'd think the market for freelance players is only going to get greater.”

Some critics and former cricketers have opined that T20s should be restricted to domestic cricket to reduce the burden on players. However, Taylor is unsure if that is the solution to the problem. He pointed out:

"Some people who love their Test and one-day internationals will say that T20 cricket should be played at the domestic level only, which is where it started out.

"There's a very good argument for that, but the problem is the rich get richer and the poor don't make anything out of it. Everyone would gravitate to the bigger nations like the IPL and the BBL, and the smaller countries would miss out."

Sharing his thoughts on the punishing schedule, former India all-rounder Ravi Shastri recently commented that T20s at the international level should be restricted to the World Cup and bilateral series should be done away with.

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“If you pick your best team for every game, you risk a Ben Stokes-situation” - Mark Taylor

In recent times, most countries have started resting their key players to try and cut down the fatigue factor.

Taylor admits that it’s the way forward, or else more Stokes-like situations will play out. He commented:

"Multi-format players like Stokes can only play so much cricket, and only want to play so much, and that's totally understandable.”

Concluding his thoughts, Taylor said:

"You're better off resting them from a game or a series here and there to ensure their longevity. If you pick your best team for every game, you risk a Ben Stokes-situation, where a great player is retiring early."

Stokes played his last one-day game on Tuesday against South Africa at Chester-le-Street. He went wicketless with the ball and was dismissed for just five with the bat.

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