England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that he’ll decide on his ODI future after he undergoes knee surgery after the team’s harrowing performance in the ICC World Cup 2023. The defending champions crashed out of the tournament with 3 wins in 9 games.
The whole unit just couldn’t come together and play as a team and form issues of key players were just too much for England to cope with. They also lost to Afghanistan in the tournament, their first-ever loss to the Asian side.
However, they ended their CWC 2023 with two back-to-back wins against Netherlands and Pakistan which was enough for them to end in 7th spot and qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
Ben Stokes, who was not in the form in the initial half of the World Cup, came good in the end, scoring 64 against Australia, 108 vs. Netherlands, and 84 against Pakistan.
"It goes back to my initial reason for stepping away from this format, [it] was just through the workload. I'm Test captain, got a lot of stuff coming up, there's a lot of stuff that I want to do with that Test team and that'll be a decision that probably I'll have to think about quite hard. But who knows where everything is? I've a bit of a clean-out coming up so you never know, the body might be in a lot better position than it was in the last 18 months,” Stokes told Sky Sports on his future in ODIs.
Stokes, who reversed his one-day retirement to take part in the World Cup, will undergo surgery on his left knee once he returns home. He was hopeful of being fit to tour India with England's Test side in January.
"I should do. I've put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India,” he added.
While leaving India with a win allowed England to end the tournament on a high note, Stokes claimed it wouldn't cover up the flaws in their 50-over game.
"It's a lot nicer getting on the plane, going home with a victory in your last game than getting on there with a loss. But I don't think the last two games will overshadow, whatever's the right word, how this tournament has been for us as a group and as individuals. It's been very disappointing. We're very aware of that, very honest in that,” he said.
England’s next assignment will be a tour of West Indies in December for 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is.
