Ex-Aus Captain Blasts Stokes For Coming Out Of Retirement Ahead Of WC

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine has strongly criticized England Test captain Ben Stokes for his decision to come out of retirement and participate in the World Cup. Paine argues that Stokes cannot simply cherry-pick the events he wants to play in.

Last year, at the age of 32, Stokes announced his retirement from One Day Internationals (ODIs), citing the difficulty of balancing three different formats of the game. However, he recently reversed his decision and joined the 15-member England squad for a limited-overs series against New Zealand, which serves as a preparation for the upcoming World Cup in India.

While England is thrilled about the return of the all-rounder to the ODI side before the World Cup in India, commencing on October 5th, Paine suggested that Stokes was displaying selfish behavior.