New Delhi: Reacting to reports about England Test captain Ben Stokes possible U-Turn on ODI retirement to play the World Cup, India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin reckons that T20I skipper Jos Buttler will convince Stokes to return for the marquee tournament later this year.
According to British media, Stokes might reconsider reversing his ODI retirement with the intention of joining the upcoming World Cup set to take place in India.
The reports come a day after England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott said Buttler Buttler will have a chat with Stokes to see if he is willing to reconsider his ODI retirement.
“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.
Reacting to this, Ashwin said Buttler, who is his teammate at the Rajasthan Royals, is a man of few words and he will try his best to convince Stokes to come out of retirement and play the World Cup.
“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 retired from ODIs in July last year, stating that it was no longer ‘sustainable’ to play all three formats. Recently, he reiterated his intentions of staying retired from the 50-over format to be fit for the Test series against India in early 2024.
The all-rounder was one of the heroes for England in the 2019 edition of the mega event, winning the Player of the Match in the Final for his memorable unbeaten 84.
IANS
