'Buttler Not a Man of Many Words': R Ashwin Feels ENG Captain Will be Crucial to Convince Stokes to Reverse ODI Retirement

Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin asserted that England limited-overs captain Jos Buttler is not very outspoken but he will try his best to convince Ben Stokes to come out of ODI retirement for the upcoming World Cup. According to a report in The Telegraph, the premier England all-rounder may take a U-turn on his ODI retirement decision to help England defend their ODI world cup title even if it means missing the next season of Indian Premier League.

Stokes played a crucial role in England’s triumph in the 2019 ODI World Cup as he played a crucial 84-run knock in the final against New Zealand to help his team lift the trophy for the first time. He replicated the same kind of performance in the 2022 T20 World Cup Final against Pakistan – 52 runs*, to help England clinch the title.

Ashwin suggested that Buttler has to play a key role in convincing Stokes to come out of the ODI retirement for the upcoming multi-nation tournament.

“They will try their best to convince Ben Stokes to come out of retirement and play the ODI World Cup and it seems that responsibility has been given to Jos Buttler. It seems Buttler’s duty is to watch Ben Stokes, according to coach Matthew Mott. So Buttler is keeping an eye on Ben Stokes. Now it’s Buttler’s job to make Stokes available for the World Cup. And Buttler is not a man of many words. He hardly speaks. So my guess is that he will go to Ben Stokes and say, ‘Dude please join us. It will be really nice if you come out of retirement.’ Buttler won’t be outspoken. He will try his best,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Talking about Stokes’ ODI retirement, Ashwin said that he wanted to manage his workload but at this moment he will be crucial for England if he comes out of retirement for the World Cup.

“Will Stokes come out of retirement? The main reason why he retired from ODIs is workload management. He said he can’t keep playing all the time, he has issues with his knee. That was the whole point of retiring from one format. But England know how crucial he will be for them in the World Cup,” he said.