Ben Stokes’ ODI retirement should be a wake-up call: Jos Buttler

England’s white-ball skipper Jos Buttler has opined that Ben Stokes’s shocking retirement call from 50-over cricket should be a “wake-up call” for those running the game. The left-handed batter played his last 50-over match on July 19, against South Africa.

Stokes could not do much in his final ODI as he was dismissed after scoring just five runs and was expensive with the ball as he bowled five overs and gave away 44 runs for no wickets as the Three Lions lost the match by 62 runs.

There’s a bit of sadness that Ben is no longer available in ODIs: Jos Buttler

“It should definitely be a bit of a wake-up call. Absolutely. Especially with the magnitude of the player. Ben’s one of the most recognizable players in world cricket, someone everyone wants to see play in every format. I’m sure there’s more to it than the schedules etc. but I think in international cricket you always want your best players playing if possible,” Buttler said after Stokes played his final ODI on Tuesday.

“It’s bittersweet as an England fan. There’s a bit of sadness that Ben is no longer available in this form of the game. But our loss in ODI cricket is certainly going to be England’s gain in Test cricket. That’s his favoured format and his priority, especially now he’s captain, and I’m sure it will give him much more longevity in the purest form of the game,” Butter added.

Earlier Stokes had stated that he is not being able to contribute to ODI cricket and someone else should take his spot. Talking about Stokes’ numbers in ODI cricket, the left-handed batter played 105 matches and scored 2924 runs at an average of almost 40 and also picked 74 wickets.

“We are not cars. You can’t just fill us up and we’ll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again. We had a Test series and then the one-day team had a series going on at the same time – that was a bit silly,” Stokes had said on BBC’s Test Match Special.