“Ben is very much his own man, he makes his own decisions” Jos Buttler claims he did not persuade Ben Stokes to return to ODI team

Jos Buttler talks about how badgering Stokes never works.

“Ben is very much his own man, he makes his own decisions” Jos Buttler claims he did not persuade Ben Stokes to return to ODI team

Stokes walking out to his last ODI (image via India Today

England Captain Jos Buttler says that Ben Stokes returning to the ODI team is completely Stokes’s decision. He claims that no one was badgering him into returning to the ODI team and that he himself had made himself available for selection. 

“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.” said Buttler. Buttler talked about how he’s known Stokes for a long time and says that whatever decision Stokes makes is his own. 

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Stokes last featured in an ODI over a year ago. He was the Man of the match in the controversial 2019 ODI World Cup Final. For the past 2 years, Stokes has been the Test captain of the England Test team as well, bringing the team to new heights. Stokes will most likely feature as a batsman for the English team due to a knee injury. It is reported that he will be skipping the 2024 IPL so that he can get a surgery.

Related: “Me, Me, Me,” Tim Paine calls Ben Stokes SELFISH as Englishman reverses ODI retirement decision for World Cup

England to ready to defend their title as World Cup Champions

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Buttler posing the with World Cup trophy (image via ICC)

Jos Buttler has won the 2022 T20I World Cup final and will try to win his first ODI World Cup as a captain. He was instrumental in winning the World Cup back in 2019, along with current teammates like Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, etc who will all feature in the 2023 World Cup as well. England already announced their provisional World Cup Squad, with stars like Harry Brook and Jofra Archer missing out.

Currently England are ranked 5th in the ICC Mens ODI Team Rankings. In the past year, England have only won 1 series out of 3. They lost to South Africa and Australia. They won the ODI series in Bangladesh. 

England will be the first team to play in the World Cup, with their first game being against New Zealand. Before the World Cup, England will play ODI series against New Zealand and Ireland. 

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