England Ashes hero Ben Stokes ‘set to make shock retirement decision’ ahead of World Cup defence
BEN STOKES is reportedly willing reverse his decision to retire from one-day internationals to play at the World Cup in India.
The Ashes star called time on his ODI England career last year as he focused on captaining the Test team.
Stokes, 32, led the Test side in the Ashes this summer as England fought Australia to a 2-2 draw in a scintillating series.
However, according to , the all-rounder appears to be willing to play in the World Cup this year if he is asked by white-ball captain Jos Buttler.
Stokes was one of the heroes during the last edition of the tournament that was played in England in 2019.
He was named player of the match in the final that saw England beat New Zealand after the game went to a super over.
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It was thought that Stokes would be undergoing knee surgery after the Ashes finished in order to help him bowl again.
However, the report claims that he would be "prepared" to miss the next season of the IPL should he need a gap for his recovery.
It is suggested that Stokes would be willing to risk his place in the competition - for which he has a contract worth £1.6million - to help England defend their title.
Should Stokes come out of retirement from ODI's to feature in the World Cup he would likely be used as a specialist batter.
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This would be because he would not have had the time to have the surgery on his knee.
The squads for the World Cup in India need to be submitted to the International Cricket Council by September 5.
Although teams are allowed to make changes to the roster until September 27.
Before the final deadline, England's ODI team face New Zealand four times and Ireland three times.
The squads are made up of 15 players but are allowed to take three travelling reserves.
