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Why Ben Stokes Missing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Should Not Be A Worry For England

Ben Stokes scored a century and two half-centuries in his last three ODI innings. [Source: @englandcricket/X]Ben Stokes scored a century and two half-centuries in his last three ODI innings. [Source: @englandcricket/X]

Unlike former Test captain Joe Root, England have not recalled current Test captain Ben Stokes to their ODI squad for the tour of India and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan. Having played the joint third-lowest number of ODIs this year, this particular squad announcement was always going to allure eyeballs due to the uncertainty around the structure of their ODI Playing XI for the first ODI against India in Nagpur on February 6, 2025.

As per the ECB (England Cricket Board), Stokes, who hasn’t played an ODI since ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, hasn’t been included “as he continues to be assessed following a left hamstring injury sustained during the third Test match against New Zealand earlier this month”.

On paper, the development has it in it to come across as a massive blow for English fans. That being said, in reality, it has it in it to do more good than harm to English cricket. Stokes, as a Test devotee in the recent years, is no longer the white-ball player he used to be. Additionally, England wouldn’t want expose a half-fit Stokes struggling in Pakistan as was the case during their previous visit to the country in October.

Lack Of White-Ball Cricket Not Beating The Drum For Ben Stokes

Even at the cost of sounding shocking, it is worth mentioning that Stokes has played just 19 out of England’s 62 ODIs since ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Fitness issues and a brief ODI retirement are primarily to be blamed for the same.

As a batter, Stokes’ 781 runs at an average and strike rate of 43.38 and 102.22 respectively including a career-best knock in this period is praiseworthy.

As a bowler, however, Stokes has fared quite the contrary on the back of four wickets coming at an average of 54.25, an economy rate of 6.57 and a strike rate of 49.5. Stokes, who bowled only eight times in this period, hasn’t bowled in an ODI in the last 29 months. Furthermore, having not bowled 10 overs in an ODI since February 2019, he hasn’t bowled more than five since March 2021.

Had Stokes been playing T20s consistently since winning England their second ICC T20 World Cup title over two years ago, one could’ve advocated why England would miss his absence in a couple of months’ time. However, with him scoring 19 runs at an average of 4.75 and not picking a single wicket in the five T20s that he’s played since the last T20 World Cup in Australia, there’s no reason for captain Jos Buttler and head coach Brendon McCullum to worry with regard to Stokes’ absence during the next ICC event.

Without the intention of degrading Stokes’ limited-overs achievements, the fact of the matter is that this could well be the end of the 33-year-old injury-prone player’s ODI career. As a rare sensation who remained unbeaten during his team’s title victories in an ODI and T20I World Cup each, Stokes has achieved a lot for England’s white-ball team over the years.

Surely at the posterior end of his international cricket, one expects Stokes to successfully execute one last mission as a captain. A five-time Ashes participant, Stokes has lifted the urn only once. Yet to do it in Australia, Stokes wouldn’t have done it anywhere in over a decade at the time of the commencement of Ashes 2025/26 down under. Since it doesn’t need to be explained what between Champions Trophy and Ashes holds more importance in English cricket, ECB and Stokes prioritising the latter should be easy to understand.