Ben Stokes focused his attention on Test captaincy and Twenty20 cricket during the season but head coach Matthew Mott did not stop reconsidering after england were given double world champion status with a win over Pakistan in the final on Sunday.
“He is a three-dimensional player and has a lot to offer,” Mott said. “He was strong in this team – I think we have a lot of players who can do extraordinary things but he was someone you knew would have won the game if he was in the team.”
“When he spoke to me about retirement from ODI cricket, the first thing I said was that I would support any decision he took, but I told him that he doesn’t necessarily have to retire, he can’t play 50 overs for a while.And I said: ‘You can always be unclean.’ “It’s his decision.” It’s going to be a World Cup year and we won’t be playing much T20 cricket for a while, but it will depend on them.
The more we can get him the better he is. He is doing a fantastic job with Test captaincy but when he comes back with the white ball, he plays a very important role.”
Ben Stokes is likely to stick to his current form and is understood to be taking part in the IPL auction to be held in Bengaluru on December 23. He was relieved of a 1.3 million pound contract with Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and after a four-month break that summer due to mental health reasons, he decided to opt out of this year’s edition.
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Can Ben Stokes return to the team for the 50-over World Cup?
If Stokes is sold to one of the 10 franchises – his performance in the T20 World Cup further strengthens this possibility – it would mean the workload will be too hectic before attempting to regain the Ashes next June.
After the winter Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, the IPL runs from March 25 to May 28, just four days before the one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s.
Ben Stokes will travel to the UNITED Arab Emirates for a short break before preparations begin for the Test, with Liam Livingstone, Mark Wood and Harry Brook being the other cross-format players, with England’s focus immediately shifting to 50-over cricket. The first match of the three-match ODI series against Australia will be played on Thursday.