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'Look at what has happened to Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson': Former England captain praises Ben Stokes for quitting ODIs
The former batter said that Ben Stokes has given up ODI cricket so as to stay at his best while playing Tests and T20Is.
Ben Stokes' ODI retirement has led to a discussion on the packed international calendar and its effect on players. Stokes himself slammed the schedule, stating that players are “not cars” that can be just refueled and made to run as much as needed.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has said that Stokes' retirement may have come out of a worry that an overpacked workload may start affecting the England Test captain's form in multiple formats of the game. Hussain said that Stokes may have wanted to avoid the drop in form that the likes of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson are experiencing.
"Some might suggest 80 per cent of Stokes is enough but the problem is that once you play at 80 per cent, it can lead lead to a drop in performance in another format. Just look at what has happened to Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, for example. He doesn't want to become stale," said Hussain in his column for Daily Mail.
Kohli and Williamson were both potent run scorers in all formats of the game at their prime. However, both players have had to deal with injuries, coupled with balancing their international responsibilities with captaining their teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and have experienced a massive drop in form in all formats of the game over the past two years.
Hussain noted that Stokes himself didn't look fully fit during what was his last ODI match when England faced South Africa in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday.
"Compared to years gone by, when he was fully fit, Tuesday was drastically different. After a couple of balls he was limping off towards the side of the pitch, not fully maintaining his momentum through the crease and down it," he said.
