Former England captain Michael Vaughan has blamed the franchise tournaments across the globe as the reason behind the players announcing their retirement from ODI format of the game. His comments came after England all-rounder Ben Stokes, a member of the 2019 World Cup-winning England team, announced that he will be retiring from the One-Day International format.
Stokes, who will play his last ODI match against South Africa on July 19, stated that he did not want to take up the place of another cricketer, knowing that he won't be able to give his 100 percent in the ODI format of the game.
Meanwhile, a disappointed Michael Vaughan has added that players should not be retiring from ODIs at the age of 31.
"Bi lateral ODI / T20 series will have to go if all the boards around the world are desperate for there own Franchise tournaments !! Something has to give .. It shouldn’t be players retiring from one format aged 31!!!!," he wrote on Twitter.
On the other hand, in his ODI retirement post, Ben Stokes added: “Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. Not only do I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give Jos (Buttler) and the rest of the team their all.”
Ben Stokes, who made his ODI debut way back in 2011, was recently named as England Test captain. He led the team to a convincing 3-0 series sweep against New Zealand before captaining England to a series-levelling win over Team India in the rescheduled fifth and final Test of the series. The veteran all-rounder had an underwhelming ODI series against Team India recently where he managed to score just 48 runs in three matches.
"It’s time for someone else to progress as a cricketer and make incredible memories like I have over the past 11 years. I will give everything I have to Test cricket, and now, with this decision, I feel I can also give my total commitment to the T20 format," Ben Stokes further added.