Kolkata

England player Ben Stokes has hinted at hanging up his boots in the 50-over format once again, following the culmination of the World Cup for the defending champions. Stokes said he would have to take a tough call, owing to the busy Test cricket season next year. 

Advertisment

Stokes was speaking after England thumped Pakistan at the Eden Gardens on Saturday (Nov 11) to walk away on a high, in a campaign that was marked by a string of disastrous results. 

"I think to answer that one it goes back to my initial reason for stepping away from this format, to ease my workload. As Test captain, there is a lot of stuff coming up. There's a lot of stuff that I want to do with that Test team," Stokes told Sky Sports. 

"It will be a decision that I'm probably going to have to think about, quite hard, to produce an outcome. You never know the body might be in a lot better position than it was in the last 18 months," he added. 

Advertisment

While Stokes mulls his ODI cricket future, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Sunday (Nov 12) released the 15-member squad for the upcoming West Indies tour. Not surprisingly, Stokes was not included in the ODI list where only six players from the World Cup found a spot.  

Also read | 'Frustrated' Jos Buttler wants to continue leading England in T20Is, ODIs following World Cup slump

Stokes' ODI retirement

Advertisment

Stokes retired from the ODI format in July last year and only came into the World Cup reckoning less than two months before the start of the marquee tournament when he unretired himself.  

Despite being included in the England squad, Stokes missed out on the opening few matches due to a hip injury which cost the team dearly. Stokes' ability to soak in the pressure and balance the Bazball style of cricket with some old-fashioned grind was the missing piece in England's playing XI and it was no surprise that the team performed relatively better with him playing. 

(With inputs from agencies)