England’s star all-rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes has opened up about his decision to retire from ODIs while citing a hectic international schedule as the major reason behind his shocking move.
Stokes hopes his retirement from ODI cricket will serve as a warning to cricket authorities over an increasingly congested global schedule, saying the players "are not cars; you can't just fill us up".
On Tuesday, July 19, Stokes played his 105th and final ODI for England when he turned up for the first ODI against South Africa at his Durham home ground.
However, he couldn’t make any impact, returning wicketless in his five-over spell while conceding 44 runs and scoring only 5 runs, and England lost the match by 62 runs against South Africa.
Ben Stokes told BBC Radio's Test Match Special: “The more cricket that is played, the better for the sport, but you want a product that is of the highest quality. You want the best players to be playing as much as you possibly can, all the time.”
He added, “It isn't just me or us, you see it all around the world now where teams are having to rest some players in a certain series so they feel like they are getting a break. We are not cars, you can't just fill us up and we'll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again.”
However, Stokes admitted that his retirement from ODIs had come earlier than expected, but hoped he would not have any regret over his decision.
He signed off by saying, “With me being captain of the Test team and how much cricket we have coming up, I do have to look after my body... But hopefully, when I am 35 or 36 and still playing Test cricket I'll be very happy with this decision I have made.”
(With AFP Inputs)
