'It was Ben's call': Buttler on Stokes's return for ODI World Cup
by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 04:44 PM
England's white-ball captain Jos Buttler maintained that Ben Stokes's return from ODI retirement was purely the all-rounder's decision and that the team management took negligible initiative in this regard. Stokes, who had retired from the 50-over format in July 2022, reversed his stance earlier this week and was named in England's provisional World Cup squad.
It was after the recently-concluded Ashes series that Stokes decided to communicate his decision to Buttler. The England and Wales Cricket Board had (ECB) left the whole matter in the skipper's hands, given Buttler's well-known rapport with Stokes. While numerous discussions had reportedly happened between the two, the ball had been left in the all-rounder's court.
"To be honest, it was Ben's call," Buttler said. "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.
"Ben is very much his own man, he makes his own decisions. I've played with him for a very long time, I'm good friends with him. Me badgering him and saying 'come back, come back' is not really the way things work with Ben. He very much makes up his own mind and decides.
"We had some conversations around
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