Matthew Mott wants Ben Stokes to reconsider his ODI retirement
Ben Stokes played a memorable knock in the T20 WC Final [Source: AP]
In a shocking turn of events, veteran England all-rounder Ben Stokes bid farewell to ODI cricket earlier this year. The stylish southpaw cited a jam-packed cricketing schedule as the primary reason behind his ODI retirement.
However, Stokes continued playing T20Is for England, emerging as their trump card with the bat in the recently concluded World Cup. Seeing his exploits in the showpiece event, England's white-ball coach Matthew Mott wants to avail his services in the ODI World Cup scheduled next year in India.
Mott, who led England to a World Cup title in his first attempt, wants England to be benefitted from Stokes' presence. Therefore, the genius tactician hopes Stokes to reconsider his ODI retirement and be back into the scheme of things for the 2023 World Cup. However, he has clarified that Stokes will be the ultimate decision-maker regarding the matter, as it's upto him if he wants to play the 50-over format.
Here's what Mott stated
"When he spoke to me about his ODI retirement, one of the first things I said was that I'd back any decision he made, but I said to him he didn't necessarily have to retire, he could just not play 50-overs for a while,
"It's going to be a World Cup year and we don't play much T20 cricket for a while, but it will be up to him. The more we can get him is great. He's doing an amazing job with the Test captaincy but he is a very big cog in the wheel when he comes back to white-ball."
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