Look what happened to Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson: Nasser Hussain reacts to Ben Stokes' ODI retirement

Ben Stokes announced his retirement from ODI cricket on Monday (July 18), a day after India won the 50-over series versus hosts Jos Buttler-led England (also a day prior to English side's ongoing home ODIs versus South Africa).

Stokes retirement has led to many questioning the relevance of ODI cricket, especially since the surge of T20s. A lot of white-ball ICC events are lined-up each year, till 2031, along with the ICC Test Championship cycles as well. Hence, players are finding it tough to sustain themselves across formats and also be present for franchise cricket. Hence, Stokes walked away from the 50-over format, being part of England's memorable 2019 World Cup triumph. Recently, former English captain-turned-commentator Nasser Hussain opined thatthe all-rounder's decision came as he feared he will become 'stale' playing all forms of the game.

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Hussain also pointed out Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson's current struggles, who areplaying all formats at regular intervals and finding it tough as well. In his coloum for The Daily Mail, Hussain wrote, "Every time he [Stokes] goes onto that field, he wants to be 100% committed, not 80% - and that is what makes him the player he is."

"Some might suggest 80% of Stokes is enough but the problem is that once you play at 80%, it can lead lead to a drop in performance in another format. Just look at what has happened to Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, for example. He doesn't want to become stale. Or go through the motions. He couldn't do that," he mentioned.

"Yes, his decision was something of a shout to the administrators because at the age of 31 someone like him shouldn't have to retire from a certain format," Nasser added.

For the unversed, both Williamson and Kohli are struggling for form at the moment. While Kohli's century-drought continues since late 2019, he also ended the England tour without a fifty. Williamson, on the other hand, scored only a solitary fifty in IPL 2022 and returned with not even a single half-century in the NZ's away Tests versus England.

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In Stokes' last ODI, played at his home ground atRiverside Ground, Chester-le-Street in Durham, the left-hander managed only five runs and remained wicketless as Rassie van der Dussen's 134 propelled SA to a convincing 62-run win as visitors went 1-0 up in the three-match series. He ended with2,924runs and 74 wickets, overall, in the ODI format.