England cricket team all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his shocking retirement from One-Day International (ODI) cricket on Monday citing the “unsustainable” rigour of playing all three formats of the game.
Stokes was recently appointed as the captain of the England Men’s Test side.
Today’s (Tuesday) match against South Africa at his home ground will be Stokes’ last ODI. However, he will continue to play Twenty20 Internationals and Test cricket.
The 31-year-old said, “This has been an incredibly tough decision to make. I have loved every minute of playing with my mates for England. Hard as this decision was to come, it’s not as hard as dealing with the fact I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in this format anymore. The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it.”
Ben Stokes has not played a T20 international for 16 months. He missed the World Cup last autumn while he was taking a break from the game to prioritise his mental health.
Following the news, cricket fans couldn’t hold themselves from expressing their sadness over Stokes’ retirement while some of his fans and fellow cricketers wished him luck.
