Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine slams Ben Stokes' ODI retirement U-Turn

England Test skipper Ben Stokes recently reversed his ODI decision, taken last July. Not to forget, till the Ashes 2023, he was firm on his decision. However, a few days back, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced their provincial squad for the ODI World Cup 2023. Ahead of the announcement, the two-time World Cup winner took a U-Turn on his ODI retirement and will play the format till the tournament.

However, the left-hander has been added as a specialist batter and not as an all-rounder. Meanwhile, former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine has criticised the New Zealand-born's reversing his decision

“Ben Stokes coming out of one day retirement, I found that interesting,” Paine told SEN Tasmania.

“It was a bit of, ‘Me, me, me’, there isn’t it? It was, ‘I’ll pick and I’ll choose where I want to play and when I want to play’, and, ‘I’ll play in the big tournaments’.

“The guys who played for 12 months, ‘Sorry, thanks. But can you go and sit on the bench because I want to play now?’

“I don’t know, he’s not bowling.

“Harry Brook or Ben Stokes? As a bat. It would be very close, very, very close.”

The return of Ben Stokes adds matchwinning ability: Luke Wright

Former Three Lions player and now selector Wright has said that Stokes' return adds to the quality with his match-winning skills and leadership. The latter was the hero of the 2019 ODI World Cup final and the T20 World Cup 2022 summit clash.

“Any series against New Zealand is closely fought and will provide us with an ideal opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world,” Wright said.

“The return of Ben Stokes only adds to that quality with his matchwinning ability and leadership. I am certain that every fan will enjoy seeing him back in an England ODI shirt again.”

England vs New Zealand series will start on August 30 with four T20Is. The 50-over series will start on September 8.