The England men's cricket team is reportedly in talks with former ODI all-rounder Ben Stokes to take his retirement back for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
Test captain Stokes last played ODI cricket in July, 2022 before deciding to quit the format to prolong his England career.
But England don't want to leave any stone unturned in their efforst to defend their maiden ODI World Cup title which they won in 2019 and therefore, are making all efforts to try and convince Stokes to come back for the showpiece event in October.
The English team management would be happy to get back Stokes just as a batter in their squad if he decides to return.
England to announce World Cup squad on Aug 15
England will announce their provisional squad for the World Cup on Tuesday.
"Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben Stokes fairly forthright with all of us. We’ll check on his interest," England's white-ball coach Matthew Mott told UK's Daily Mail.
"There has not been a clear direction on what he’s going to do yet, but we are still hopeful. I’ve always said his bowling would be a bonus, but just look at what he brings with the bat, even in the field.
“Watching him throughout the whole Ashes series, he had such a great presence. He’s done it for years when it comes to performing in one-day cricket and so he’s an invaluable commodity,” Mott added.
England also targetting Jofra Archer
England are also looking at the addition of fast bowler Jofra Archer in their squad but he remains doubtful due to a recurrence of a stress fracture on his elbow.
Archer returned to the national setup earlier this year after spending nearly 3 years on the sidelines due to injury.
"It would be a big ask for him to play every game, so we would have to target specific ones, but we are big on ball speed for India, we feel like that's a really important asset for us to have out there and it will be good to see Mark Wood, who had such an impact in the Ashes, do the same with the white ball," Mott said of Archer.
