Ben Stokes reveals the reason why he retired from ODI cricket

It was a shock and surprise for the cricket community when England's prime all-rounder and Test captain, Ben Stokes, announced his retirement from one-day internationals. This surprise came through a statement shared by the 31-year-old on his official Twitter handle. 

Notably, he will play his last ODI match against South Africa on Tuesday at Durham, which will be the first match of the three-match ODI series starting on July 19 at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street. The ODI career of the English Test skipper will always be remembered for his heroics in the 2019 World Cup.

It was his unbeaten knock of 84 runs against New Zealand in the final at Lord's that kept the English side in the chase. He helped his team to tie the match, and then the English team went on to win the match on the basis of boundary count. However, everyone is surprised to see him hang up his boots.

❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/xTS5oNfN2j

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022

But the all-rounder has revealed the reason why he has taken such a big step. Earlier this month, Eoin Morgan also announced his retirement from international cricket. Notably, in an official statement released by Ben Stokes, he said that he doesn't feel that he is able to give his 100 percent to the team.

Stokes stated, "I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give Jos and the rest of the team their all. It's time for someone else to progress as a cricketer and make incredible memories like I have over the past 11 years."

The 31-year-old further added that he will focus on red-ball cricket and will give his all. However, he stated that this decision will allow him to devote more time to T20 cricket. Finally, he thanked Jos Buttler, Mathew Mott, and other support staff and said, "We have made great strides in white-ball cricket over the past seven years, and the future looks bright."

Stokes has played a total of 104 ODIs for England and made his debut in August 2011 against Ireland. He has scored 2919 runs at an average and strike rate of 39.45 and 95.27, including three centuries and 21 half-centuries. With the ball, he has taken 74 wickets, with a best figure of 5/61.