‘I needed to see how I got through the Ashes’ – Ben Stokes revealed what influenced him to come out of retirement

England cricket team’s star all-rounder, Ben Stokes recently made headlines as he came out of retirement to participate in the ODI World Cup, 2023. Ben Stokes has consistently been in the news after his heroics in leading England towards back-to-back World Cup victories, first in the 2019 ODI World Cup against New Zealand and the next in T-20 World Cup 2022  against Pakistan. 

Ben Stokes called the World Cup tournament as his inspiration to come out of retirement and participate in the marquee tournament, he also discussed with BBC, how he first wanted to look at his performance in the ashes, and then think about playing ODIs once again. The defending champions England will commence their ODI World Cup campaign against New Zealand, on 5 October at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

Ben Stokes on his U-turn on retirement plans 

“Back then, it was: I’m done. But as time goes on and the opportunities come closer and closer, you think completely differently to when I made the decision. There were obviously a lot of things to think about. First and foremost, I needed to see how I got through the Ashes and then think about what I had after the World Cup. When I felt like I had to make a decision and make myself available, it was an easy one to make,” said Ben Stokes. 

“The words World Cup are pretty inspiring. Going into this one as world champions, playing a part in [winning] that in 2019, which was an unbelievable moment for us as a team and myself”, he said. 

“The idea of going in and potentially being able to win back-to-back World Cups was one of the big things. Everyone knows, and it’s not arrogant for us to say that we’re a very good team. We’ve got a very good depth of personnel to be able to choose from and our record since the World Cup has been very good. We like our chances, but the thinking about World Cups is who can handle the pressure best on any given day”, concluded Ben Stokes.