Ben Stokes signals international retirement, confirms next career move
Published - 29 Jan 2026, 11:20 AM | Updated - 29 Jan 2026, 11:34 PM
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England cricket superstar and Test captain Ben Stokes is set to join England Lions as a part of the exciting coaching staff led by the former international Andrew Flintoff. Along with Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali will also join Flintoff and Co. The duo will join the England Lions ahead of their white-ball series against the Pakistan Shaheens in Abu Dhabi next month.
The series will address the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) renewed strategy to push England cricket ahead. Keeping an eye on modern cricket, where rising interest in limited-overs cricket is visible, the English cricket board has taken a new route to steer their national cricket team to a new path.
England Lions will play limited overs match after 3 years
The limited-overs series against Pakistan Shaheens will be the first for the England Lions in the last three years, as cricket in England mostly relied on county cricket and domestic tournaments. The T20 series will be the Lions' first since late 2018, and they have not played a 50-over match since touring Sri Lanka in early 2023.
For the upcoming tour, England cricket stars like Ben Stokes and Ali will join the coaching team. Stokes, England's Test team captain, will continue his recovery process with the Lions. The pace-bowling all-rounder picked up a groin injury while bowling in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney earlier this month.
Moeen Ali will also join the Ben Stokes-starrer coaching set-up
On a previous occasion,Ben Stokes gained work experience with Flintoff in a 'mentor' role at Northern Superchargers in the Hundred this summer. It will be the second time Ben Stokes will work with the legend as a member of the coaching staff. On the other side, Moeen Ali, who retired from professional cricket, has reversed this decision to join Yorkshire for the T20 Blast and will continue with the England Lions team to carry on his transition from a cricketer to a coach.
Ali has the desire to be a coach after his cricketing career. Along with Stokes and Ali, Flintoff will be assisted by Neil McKenzie, Sarah Taylor, Neil Killeen, Amar Rashid, and Troy Cooley. For the series against Pakistan Shaheens, ECB confirmed their full squads for the ODIs and T20Is in Abu Dhabi.
England Lions squads for the series vs Pakistan Shaheens
T20 squad: Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox (capt), Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Saqib Mahmood, Ben McKinney, Tom Moores, Dan Mousley, Matt Revis, Will Smeed, Nathan Sowter, Mitchell Stanley, and Asa Tribe.
50-over squad: Sonny Baker, Luc Benkenstein, James Coles, Sam Cook, Scott Currie, Calvin Harrison, Eddie Jack, Ben McKinney, Dan Mousley (capt), Liam Patterson-White, Matthew Potts, Matt Revis, James Rew, Mitchell Stanley, Asa Tribe, James Wharton.
England Lions vs Pakistan Shaheens Full Fixtures:
England Lions vs Pakistan Shaheens 3-match T20I series:
1st T20I—Feb 20,
2nd T20I- Feb 22
3rd T20I- Feb 24
England Lions vs Pakistan Shaheens 5-match ODI series:
1st ODI—Feb 27
2nd ODI—March 1
3rd ODI—March 4
4th ODI—March 6
5th ODI—March 9
(All matches will be held at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi).
Read More: Sri Lanka squad for England T20I series announced; superstar players kicked out
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England National Cricket Team Ben Stokes Moeen Ali Pakistan Shaheens Pakistan National Cricket Team Andrew FlintoffAbout the Author
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