England’s World Cup defence could receive a significant boost amid shock reports Ben Stokes is set to come out of retirement from one-day international cricket.
The Telegraph revealed the 32-year-old, who retired from ODI cricket in July last year, will perform a stunning U-turn on his decision and is highly likely to be named in Jos Buttler’s squad.
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Although there are concerns surrounding Stokes’ knee injury, he is reportedly prepared to miss out on a lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) season if it means he has extra time to recover.
Stokes is on a staggering $AUD3.2 million deal with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings but could forego the big money to help his nation defend their World Cup crown.
The report claims Stokes would likely have a role as a specialist batter in the middle order given England’s fears over how many overs of bowling he would be able to complete.
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Stokes played a starring role in helping England secure the World Cup in 2019 when he hit the winning runs in a thrilling Super Over to beat New Zealand.
Nations competing in the World Cup must submit their squads to the International Cricket Council (ICC) before September 5, although alterations can be made up to September 27.
The squads will comprise of 15 players with three reserves also allowed to come along for the ride.
England kick off their World Cup campaign with a salivating rematch of the 2019 final as they taken on New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.