Former Australia captain Tim Paine has come up with a bold take on Ben Stokes’s return to ODI cricket ahead of the Cricket World Cup in India later this year, hinting that it was a selfish decision from the all-rounder. Paine questioned Stokes’s return from ODi retirement, saying that there was no regard to the player who lost out on the spot in the side.

Stokes had retired from ODIs in 2022 due to an overwhelming workload as a multi-format player and concerns about a chronic left knee injury. However, his decision to unretire has been welcomed by fans and the cricket board alike. National selector Luke Wright expressed his excitement at seeing Stokes back in an England ODI shirt again, highlighting his match-winning ability and leadership skills.

Despite his knee injury, which flared up this year and prevented him from bowling in the last three Ashes tests in July, Stokes’ return to the ODI format is seen as a strategic move ahead of the World Cup.

However, while Stokes’ return has been celebrated, the omission of Harry Brook from the ODI squad has raised eyebrows. Brook, who had shown promise in his only ODI series in South Africa missed out from the provisional World Cup squad.

“Ben Stokes coming out of one day retirement, I found that interesting. It was a bit of, ‘Me, me, me’, there isn’t it? It was,” Paine told SEN Radio.

“It was like ‘I’ll pick and I’ll choose where I want to play and when I want to play’, and, ‘I’ll play in the big tournaments’. The guys who played for 12 months, ‘Sorry, thanks. But can you go and sit on the bench because I want to play now?'”.

‘VERY VERY CLOSE’

Stokes’s nagging knee injury issue means the all-rounder will only start out as a batter and bowl if need be in the latter half of the ODI World Cup.

“I don’t know, he’s not bowling. Harry Brook or Ben Stokes? As a bat. It would be very close, very, very close,” Paine said.

England will play 4 ODIs against South Africa and 3 ODIs against Ireland in September before they head to India for the World Cup, starting October 5.