England all-rounder Ben Stokes reversed his ODI retirement earlier this week in a bid to defend their title in the World Cup. Stokes had retired from the format last year citing hectic schedule as the reason. But ahead of the provisional World Cup squad announcement of England, he decided to make a comeback and now has been included for the upcoming New Zealand ODI series as well.
Meanwhile, England's white-ball skipper Jos Buttler has stated that the decision to come back is purely of the all-rounder and only basic discussions happened with him regarding him playing ODIs again. However, Buttler is happy that one of their premier players will be available for the World Cup in India with the event starting from October 5.
"To be honest, it was Ben's call. 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," Buttler said.
Ben Stokes was recently involved in the Ashes and he had persuaded Moeen Ali to come out of retirement and the same has happened with him. Buttler also highlighted the importance of Stokes and what he brings to the table for England in white-ball cricket. "I don't think you need me to tell you what Ben Stokes brings to a team. It's fantastic to have Ben back available. Any time a player of his quality is available again is fantastic. We're delighted to welcome him back," the England skipper further added.
Interestingly, it remains to be seen if Ben Stokes will be able to bowl in the upcoming New Zealand series. The all-rounder is struggling with an injured knee for quite some time now and could play as a specialist batter as well according to reports.
