Former Indian cricketer Nasser Hussain called Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from ODI disappointing. He said that he has immense respect for the all-rounder’s decision as it was gutsy from him to acknowledge he won't be able to give his 100 percent in the 50-over format.
Stokes left many surprised when he on Monday (18th July) announced his retirement from the ODIs through a social media post. The all-rounder will play his last game against South Africa on Tuesday (July 19).
Stokes, who played a pivotal role in making England the World Champions in 2019, cited that he was not being able to give his 100 percent to the team in ODI cricket and playing all 3 formats of the game amid a busy schedule is "unsustainable" for him.
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Stokes, who was recently named as Test skipper of England, also pulled himself out of the Hundred this year and a T20I series against South Africa. Notably, he took a mental health break last year and skipped the IPL 2022 and the T20 World Cup in the UAE.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain said that Stokes retiring from the ODIs is disappointing as it reflects how jam-packed cricketing schedule is madness for players.
"It is disappointing news to say the least but it is a reflection of where the cricketing schedule is at the moment. It is madness for players. Half the reasons [for his retirement] will be physical, and half will be mental, and mental in Ben's case is the fact he can't do things at 70, 80%,” Nasser Hussain said.
Nasser highlighted that Stokes is a kind of player who will only play if he’s 100 per cent and he’s not willing to give his everything in this format. He respects the all-rounder’s decision.
“He's not just going to be a bit-part player, he has to do it full on and he's not willing to do it unless he does it 100 percent. In a way, I respect him immensely for making that decision because that's how you want every England cricketer to turn up, giving it everything every single day,” he said.
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Calling the cricketing schedule crazy, Nasser said that it’s very difficult for multi-dimension players like Stokes to give their everything. He called his retirement as a shame as the all-rounder won them the World Cup in 2019.
"I guess it's the schedule. The cricketing schedule is absolutely crazy at the moment. If you just play in the one format - say Test matches - it's absolutely fine. But if you're a multi-format, multi-dimensional player, and even a Test Match captain like Ben Stokes, who throws himself into his job 100% on and off the field, eventually something's going to have to give, and it looks like for Ben it is 50-over cricket which is a real shame because he gave us and England fans the greatest day for a very long time in 2019, a day we'll never forget with that World Cup final," he said.
Making his debut in 2011, Stokes played 104 ODIs for England, scoring 2919 runs at an average of 39.19 to go with 3 tons and 21 half-centuries. With the ball, the all-rounder took 74 wickets at an economy of 6.
(Sky Sports inputs)
