Fumed at England Test captain Ben Stokes for returning from ODI retirement to compete in the 2023 World Cup, former Australian Test captain Tim Paine said he could not just "pick" and "choose" events. In July 2022, the England Test captain announced his ODI retirement, claiming that playing three different formats had become "unsustainable" for him.
However, he just left retirement to join the 15-man England squad for a limited-overs match against New Zealand at home, which is a warm-up series for the World Cup in India. With the World Cup starting on October 5 in India, England is thrilled to have the all-rounder back in the ODI lineup. However, Paine claimed Stokes was acting selfishly.
Speaking on SEN Tassie, the Tasmanian raised eyebrows at Harry Brook's omission, stating how it meant nothing when Stokes became available to play ODI cricket again.
"It was a bit of, 'Me, me, me', there isn't it? It was, 'I'll pick and I'll choose where I want to play and when I want to play', and, 'I'll play in the big tournaments'. The guys who played for 12 months, 'Sorry, thanks. But can you go and sit on the bench because I want to play now?'
Jos Buttler opens up on Ben Stokes' ODI comeback:
England white-ball captain Jos Buttler stated that Stokes wouldn't agree to return to ODI cricket by anyone's persuasion and that he left it to the all-rounder. As quoted by ESPN Crcinfo, Buttler stated:
"To be honest, it was Ben's call. You all know Ben pretty well by now - I don't think anyone talking to him would persuade him. We had some conversations quite a while ago about it and just left it to him to come to me, basically, if he wanted to come back. We're delighted that he feels ready to come back and any time you can welcome him back into the team is great."
Stokes played an instrumental role in England's 2019 World Cup win, hitting 465 runs in 11 matches, including an unbeaten 84 in the final against New Zealand.
