Ben Stokes on Tuesday (July 19) responded to Virat Kohli’s kind message for him, which came after the England all-rounder announced his retirement from ODIs.

On the eve of England’s ongoing first ODI against South Africa, Stokes took the cricket fraternity by storm with his decision to call time on his 50-over cricket career.

Stokes, who was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning team, confirmed his decision through a social media post, citing that he was not being able to give his 100 percent to the team in ODIs and playing all three formats amid a busy schedule is "unsustainable" for him.

Kohli had replied to Stokes’ Instagram post, stating: “You’re the most competitive bloke I’ve ever played against. Respect.”

In response to Kohli’s comment, Stokes shared his views on the former Indian skipper, calling him 'one of the greatest players'.

“Yeah, I love Virat. He is going to go down as one of the greatest players of the game in all three formats. He is a phenomenal player. I absolutely loved every time I played against him. The energy and the commitment that he gives to the game is something that I have always really admired even before playing against him,” Stokes said while talking to Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports.

In the 50-over format, Stokes and Kohli last played against each other on Sunday (July 17) during the series-deciding third ODI between England and India at Old Trafford.

“When you play against guys like that, you understand sort of what it means to not just yourself but everybody else who manages to play the game as lucky enough to play at the top level. So I have loved every single time I have played against him. I am sure we’ll have some more battles on the field. But yeah, it was nice to hear [from Kohli],” Stokes remarked.

Ben Stokes represented England in 104 ODIs, scoring 2919 runs and claiming 74 wickets in ODIs with three centuries and the best bowling figures of 5/61.