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'It Was Ben’s Call...': Jos Buttler Shares Insights on Ben Stokes’ ODI Return for World Cup 2023

image-llgl0xwoBen Stokes (L) and Jos Buttler (R). (Twitter)

England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler revealed that ace all-rounder Ben Stokes chose to reverse his decision to retire from ODIs and make himself available for the upcoming World Cup in India.

England's hero of the 2019 World Cup final, Stokes opted to reverse his ODI retirement in preparation for the title defence in India later this year. This decision came about a week or ten days after the conclusion of the gruelling five-match Ashes series.

Stokes had initially declared his retirement from ODIs and his intention to skip the World Cup before the final Ashes match at The Oval, which England won to draw the series 2-2 with Australia. 

The allure of his big-match temperament and ability to single-handedly win games persuaded head coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler to encourage his return.

Buttler emphasized that the decision was entirely Stokes' own, given his strong individuality. The team is delighted with his readiness to come back, and Buttler, who shares a longstanding friendship with Stokes, acknowledged that the all-rounder makes his decisions independently.

"To be honest, it was Ben's call. You all know Ben pretty well by now - I don't think anyone talking to him would persuade him. We had some conversations quite a while ago about it and just left it to him to come to me, basically, if he wanted to come back. We're delighted that he feels ready to come back and any time you can welcome him back into the team is great. 

Ben is very much his own man, he makes his own decisions. I've played with him for a very long time, I'm good friends with him. Me badgering him and saying 'come back, come back' is not really the way things work with Ben. He very much makes up his own mind and decides,”  Jos Buttler was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

With Stokes rejoining the squad, England has maintained a core of nine players who were part of both the 2019 World Cup-winning team and the provisional squad for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup.