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England coach says Ben Stokes could ‘unretire’ in ODIs: 'It's a World Cup year and we don't play much T20'
The next edition of the 50-over World Cup will be played in India and starts in less than a year.
After playing a pivotal role in both the finals of 2019 ICC World Cup and at the T20 World Cup final on Sunday, England may be tempted to get Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement. The next edition of the 50-over World Cup will be played in the sub-continent and starts in less than a year. However, it will be interesting to see if Stokes comes out of retirement and help the Three Lions defend the title.
Stokes chipped in with gritty knocks on both occasions, as England became the first team to hold the T20 and ODI title at the same time. In the clash against Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday, Stokes scored an unbeaten 52 off 49 balls as England chased down the 138-run target with an over to spare. Against New Zealand, which was played three years ago at Lord's, Stokes displayed a similar tempo, where he scored an unbeaten 84 off 98 deliveries as England went to win the showpiece event on the basis of boundary rule.
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However, Stokes announced retirement from ODIs earlier this year, citing workload factor. Sharing his thoughts on the same, England's limited-over coach Matthew Mott gave a massive update on Stokes' future in the 50-over format.
"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.
“I did say you could always unretire. That's his decision. It's going to be a World Cup year and we don't play much T20 cricket for a while but it will be a decision that's up to him,” said Mott while talking to reporters in Melbourne.
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The coach also praised Stokes' efforts in lifting England's performance in the red-ball format. Ever since taking the baton from Joe Root, the all-rounder has led England to six wins in seven matches during the English summer.
"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," he said.
Stokes has featured in 105 ODIs, in which he has accumulated 2924 runs at an average of 38.99. He has scalped 74 wickets.
