‘It would’ve become too much for him’, McCullum backs Ben Stokes' ODI retirement

England Test skipper Ben Stokes' sudden retirement from one-day cricket took the cricketing world by storm. The decision opened a debate about the 50-over format's relevance in the age of T20 cricket.

Brendon McCullum, who coaches the England men's Test team, has backed Stokes' decision to retire from ODIs.

Speaking to SENZ, McCullum, when asked about Stokes' retirement, said, "He's probably in a luxurious position that he's able to do that, but also, with the demands of the schedules and with his heightened schedule as Test captain, it would've become too much. He also has a young family, and there's a lot going on."

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The legendary keeper-batter opined that Stokes will be more focused on Test cricket now, which fares well for the England red-ball side.

"Stokes is the skipper of our Test side and the job that I've seen him do with this team in a very short period of time really excites me about what he can do with this side, particularly now that he'll have more available time rather than jumping from series to series to series,"  he added.

The former Blackcaps skipper also talked about whether other players would follow Stokes' way and give up on the second oldest format for the game.

"I don't know if it's symbolic of where the game itself is around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive, to be honest. I'm looking forward to being able to spend even more time with 'Stokesy' trying to get this thing cracking," the 40-year-old concluded.

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