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Can Jos Buttler convince Ben Stokes to reverse ODI retirement for World Cup? Ashwin weighs in
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Jos Buttler’s persuasive skills could lead to Ben Stokes reconsidering his ODI retirement and playing in the upcoming World Cup. Get insights on the potential U-turn and Ashwin’s thoughts.
Photo courtesy: IANS
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In response to rumours that England Test captain Ben Stokes would reconsider his decision to retire from ODI cricket in order to compete in the World Cup, all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin of India believes that T20I captain Jos Buttler will persuade Stokes to play in the World Cup later this year.
According to British media, Stokes may think twice about coming out of his ODI retirement in order to play in the 2019 World Cup, which will be held in India.
The rumours surface a day after England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott stated that Buttler would speak with Stokes to determine whether or not he would be open to reconsidering his decision to retire from ODI cricket.
“Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen,” Mott had told Daily Mail in an interview last week.
Ashwin responded by claiming that Buttler, a teammate at the Rajasthan Royals, is a guy of few words and that he will make every effort to persuade Stokes to come out of retirement and participate in the World Cup.
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“They will try their best to convince Ben Stokes to come out of retirement and play the ODI World Cup and it seems that responsibility has been given to Jos Buttler. It seems Buttler’s duty is to watch Ben Stokes, according to coach Matthew Mott. So Buttler is keeping an eye on Ben Stokes. Now it’s Buttler’s job to make Stokes available for the World Cup. And Buttler is not a man of many words. He hardly speaks.
“So my guess is that he will go to Ben Stokes and say, ‘Dude please join us. It will be really nice if you come out of retirement.’ Buttler won’t be outspoken. He will try his best,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Stokes announced his retirement from ODIs in July of last year, claiming that playing all three forms was no longer “sustainable.” He has reaffirmed his decision to forgo the 50-over format in order to be healthy for the Test series against India in early 2024.
The all-rounder, who won Player of the Match in the Final for his remarkable unbeaten 84, was one of England’s heroes in the 2019 iteration of the huge tournament.
-IANS
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