Watch: Ben Stokes' emotional farewell speech to England team after ODI retirement goes viral

Ben Stokes had a special message for Jos Buttler as he gave an emotional farewell speech to his England teammates after his ODI retirement.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes stunned cricket fans around the world as he retired from ODI cricket after the recent final ODI against South Africa. Stokes explained that it was 'unsustainable' for him to play all three formats and he would concentrate more on T20I and Test cricket. The England cricket team's official social media account decided to give fans a sneak peek into the atmosphere of the dressing room as Stokes passed on his final message.

Ben Stokes speaks to his teammates. (Twitter/@englandcricket)

Urging his teammates to 'keep pushing the boundaries', Stokes reminded them to continue with their brand of cricket. "I just want to say for the team going forward. You know, Jos as always mentioned is just keep pushing the boundaries of what we do in the cricket field. Whether it will be ball, bat, in the field. Take yourselves to the extremes because that's when we are able to go out and do stuff like no one else can as a team", he said.

"Not many teams still feel like, I personally was there. Feeling we're still in the game. Even with four overs to go. Not many teams can feel like that when there's seven or eight down because of what we've got in the dressing room."

The 31-year-old also had a message for Jos Buttler, whom he called 'one of those blokes who ooze class'. On an emotional note, he said, "Jos, never doubt yourself. Never doubt any decisions you make, as a leader and as a captain. You're an incredible human being. You're an incredible player. Whatever you do, you know for a fact that you are going to have all ten blokes out there in the field to follow you. You're just one of those blokes who ooze class. People want to do things because of the person you are, never mind the cricketer. I'm just hoping if you believe in everything that you do, you are going to have everyone behind you."

"Its sad that I am not going to able to do this anymore in this format. I played a lot of cricket with you. I wish you all the best in your journey as captain", he further added.

Here is the video of Stokes' full viral message to the England cricket team:

Stokes made his debut in 2011 against Ireland and his crowning moment in his ODI career came at the 2019 Cricket World Final that was won by England after a Super Over. One of the reason's for the victory was after Martin Guptill's throw from the deep deflected off Stokes' outstretched bat and went for a boundary. Stokes smacked a match-winning knock of 84 runs and also stitched a 110-run partnership with Buttler, who is also the current ODI captain.