Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, is currently on the sidelines due to a hamstring tear he suffered during the Hundred. With the team already 2-0 ahead in the ongoing Test series against, the red-ball team is more or less taken care of with the focus and spotlight shifting onto the white-ball side since the failed defence of the T20 World Cup. Matthew Mott left as the head coach of the side and Brendon McCullum, who took up the red-ball coach role as part of split coaching, will be the new England coach across all formats.
McCullum's new contract takes off with the white-ball tour of India, followed by the Champions Trophy in February. Since McCullum is in charge of the white-ball side as well now, there is an expectation that Stokes might be in the reckoning to be part of the Champions Trophy next year, however, the senior all-rounder is not bothered about his selection in the shorter formats.
"It’s hard to turn down those sort of big events, isn’t it?," said Stokes to the Telegraph but even if he isn't selected, he would be content with what he has been able to achieve in white-ball cricket including winning the both ODI and T20 World Cups in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
“If I didn’t play another white-ball game, I’ll be very content with how many games I’ve played and what I’ve been able to achieve," Stokes said. "I don’t know what the plan is going forward, whether they see me being a part of that or not. I’m sure there’ll be some conversation at some point about that. And I’ll be happy either way."
Stokes hasn't played a single white-ball match for England since the last ODI World Cup in 2023 in India and missed the recent T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies as well. Maybe not in the T20Is but Stokes is definitely an asset in the longer formats and England would be only richer if he plays the Champions Trophy but it all depends on McCullum, Rob Key and how they see the white-ball side going forward.
