Ben Stokes Rips Apart Tim Paine While Addressing The Latter's 'Selfish' Remark

Ben Stokes came out of his ODI retirement to be available for England’s 2023 ODI World Cup campaign. He played a key role in England’s World Cup triumph in 2019 where Stokes played a stunning knock of 84 against New Zealand in the finals. Ben Stokes will hope for another memorable campaign in the upcoming World Cup. England will start their World Cup campaign in the opening match on 5th October against the runners-up of the previous two ODI World Cups, New Zealand.

Ben Stokes came out of his ODI retirement and was quick enough to regain his form in the format. He validated his inclusion by breaking the record of the highest individual score by an English batsman in ODIs. Stokes scored a scintillating 182 off just 124 deliveries with 15 boundaries and 9 maximums against New Zealand in the ODI series between the two nations.

Ben Stokes returning to England’s ODI squad gives a lot of depth to the side given that he can play deep down the order and is extremely good in high-pressure games. However, there has been some criticism regarding his comeback by former Australian Captain, Tim Paine. Paine called Ben Stokes’ decision to come out of retirement as ‘Selfish’ considering it unfair to those who played for England in the past year.

Ben Stokes Took No Nonsense From Tim Paine’s ‘Selfish’ Remark.

“Selfish? I’d like to think I’ve played enough for people to know that is not a word that applies to me. I had to see how I felt after the Ashes. And I was cooked, taking naps for days after it. But once I thought about the World Cup, potentially defending it, it was simple. It was good to tell Jos. He doesn’t give much away but he was buzzing,” said Stokes.

Ben Stokes feels that England is in a really good position to defend their title. The squad has a lot of depth in both departments and is ready to take on any team that comes their way to glory. With Ben Stokes returning and England being in terrific form, it is pretty clear that England is one of the favourites to reach the top four of the World Cup and there are high chances that they will make it to the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.