Nasser Hussain Blames ‘ICC’s Tight Schedule’ As The Reason Behind Stokes’ Premature ODI Retirement
Ben Stokes, a star all-rounder for England, announced on Monday that he was retiring from ODIs. He said that the match against South Africa on July 19 would be his last in the 50-over version of the game. He said that playing in all three formats has become “unsustainable” for him, which is why he made the surprising decision.
Stokes quit the format before he should have when he was only 31 years old. This made everyone think about how much pressure the all-format players have to deal with. First, Michael Vaughan said that the franchise-based models of the tournament were to blame. Now, Nasser Hussain has said that the number of games that all-format players play is very tiring and that the ICC should come up with a plan to make things easier for them.
“It’s bad news, to say the least, but it’s a sign of where cricket is in its schedule right now. It’s crazy for the players. If the ICC keeps holding ICC events and individual boards keep filling the gaps with as much cricket as possible, these cricketers will just say, ‘I’m done,'” Hussain told Sky Sports.
At the moment, the schedule is a bit of a joke and needs to be fixed: Nasser Hussain
This month, the ICC will soon announce its new schedule, which is likely to give franchise-based tournaments their own time slots. The Indian Premier League might get a longer window, but Australia’s Big Bash League and England’s The Hundred might get their own spots in the new ICC Calendar.
“At age 31, Stokes is done with one format, which really can’t be right. At the moment, the schedule is a bit of a joke and needs to be fixed. Everyone seems to be looking over 50-over cricket because everyone loves Test match cricket and everyone loves T20 cricket,” Hussain said.
Stokes will play his last ODI for the team on Tuesday at the Riverside Ground in Durham against South Africa. He will continue to play for the team in both Tests and T20Is, but Jos Buttler will be in charge of the T20Is.
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