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Follow UsBen Stokes (Image Credit : Twitter)
England all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his retirement from ODI cricket on July 18. His last game will be against South Africa on July 19. In a long not written by Stokes on Twitter, he said that his body isn't up to the mark to keep playing all forms of the game. Reacting to the 2019 World Cup winner's retirement, Nasser Hussain said he is disappointed but pointed out that the decision reflects the busy schedule.
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The former England skipper said that if the World Cricket Governing Body keeps putting world events in place and cricket boards fill the gaps with more games, the players will eventually give up. The former Essex player feels that Stokes retiring from one format at the age of 31 is not right.
"It is disappointing news to say the least but it is a reflection of where the cricketing schedule is at the moment. It is madness for players. If the ICC just keep putting on ICC events and individual boards just keep filling the gaps with as much cricket as possible, eventually these cricketers will just say I'm done. Stokes is done with one format aged 31, which can't be right, really. The schedule needs looking at, it is a bit of a joke at the moment," Hussain told Sky Sports.
"It looks like 50-over cricket is the one everyone is looking at, because everyone loves Test match cricket and everyone loves T20 cricket. The IPL is getting a wider window, so that'll go on for even longer and players will pull out. South Africa have also pulled out of a bilateral series coming up in white-ball cricket which could cost them qualification to the World Cup, and that is a big deal," he added.
The fans, on the other hand, also feel the same. Some pointed out that the 50-over format has been going out of relevance with Test cricket providing more excitement and T20 being watched by a lot of all people.
This is how Twitter reacted:
Bi lateral ODI / T20 series will have to go if all the boards around the world are desperate for there own Franchise tournaments !! Something has to give .. It shouldn’t be players retiring from one format aged 31 !!!!
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 18, 2022
South Africa binning their Australian tour and Stokes retiring. Good week for the future of ODIs as a format I reckon 👍
— Ian Higgins (@1an_Higgins) July 18, 2022
From the last couple of years teams are just playing a lot of t20i and the number of ODI matches have been reduced. Feel very bad that the most interesting format of the game is not being recognised the way it was till 2019.Lets hope that the teams play more ODIs after 2022 wc.
— Malhar Prasad Dani (@MalharDani) July 19, 2022
Former England captain Nasser Hussain blames 'crazy' cricket schedule behind Ben Stokes' sudden retirement from ODIs.
— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) July 19, 2022
Do you agree with Nasser? 🤔#BenStokes | #NasserHussain | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/ONq2rH6GQP
Ben Stokes retirement from ODIs is going to start a trend. Earlier players used to take retirement from Tests but recently Test cricket has been going through one of its best days, so it all makes sense.
— El Niño🇮🇳 (@suppandiiii) July 19, 2022
Odis losing relevance with all these bilaterals over the past decade, triangulars and quadrangular series make it way more interesting
— Kartik 🇮🇳 (@clutchballer14) July 19, 2022
Also with t20 leagues it’s taking a toll
Is it time for 2 formats?
— Azeem Rafiq (@AzeemRafiq30) July 18, 2022
If ODI cricket is not going to have the best players in the world playing than what is the point?
🤷🏽
ODIs have nothing left for him. He must focus on test captaincy, he’s in charge of a sensitive period. Also T20 money will be nice to get I’m sure https://t.co/lB83OFJhRl
— Sanju Samson (@Lethu911) July 19, 2022
Ben Stokes’ retirement from ODIs should send a message to administrations about the crammed schedules. The best players can only do so much. Something has to give.
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) July 18, 2022
Super League was one of the better things to happen for ODIs and ICC are probably being forced to dump it. Just 24 ODIs per team over a 3 year period would have been very reasonable and gave it great context. Such a shame that it is being shelved.
— Akbar Manjyani (@Akbarmanjyani) July 19, 2022