Ben Stokes needs to stop doing 'selective pointing'

Bens Stokes revolutionized Test cricket since taking up charge of England's red-ball team and the team under him looks hard to stop

PHOTO: AFP

Ben Stokes is a generational star, fans are influenced and they look up to him. He has been key in their white-ball success and the mainstay behind 2019 and 2022 World Cup wins.

The 31-year-old revolutionized Test cricket since taking up charge of England's red-ball team and the team under him looks hard to stop.

The emergence of T20 leagues has somehow damaged international cricket but both are going forward without any danger. Teams like England, Australia, India are playing the same amount of Tests that they used to play in the last two decades but in a limited amount of time because of having their respective leagues.

The dates of international matches are shrinked to accommodate leagues and players are involved more. The basic reason is monetary value while others look to improve skills for specific conditions.

Ben Stokes has repeatedly raised his voice on the amount of cricket played in a calendar year. He has bid farewell to ODI cricket, citing the physical and mental demands of playing all three formats. The world won't see a star like him in the World Cup later this year in India. Defending champion England will be without the star of the final of the 2019 edition.

Last night, he once again raised his concern over the schedule after England lost to South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series. He took a dig by tweeting that England's biggest issue in ODI cricket 'Begins with S ends with E and has chedul in there as well'.

Majority of the England players are playing international cricket after 22nd November, 2022. They were in South Africa for the maiden edition of South Africa's franchise league 'SA20'.

Just like the dominance of Pakistan players can be seen in ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), England has the most representation in SA20.

Coming back to Stokes, he will be in action at the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), tentatively starting in April and finishing in the first week of June. The charismatic all-rounder will play for Chennai Super Kings along with stars like MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja.

He was fetched in the mini-auction for 162.5 million. He will become part of IPL after the 2020 season. Stokes is also a highly-paid England cricketer, but he won't withdraw from playing IPL. He is paid £650,000 per year because of playing Test cricket and is not short of money.

On the other hand, his constant questions of not having enough time in a calendar year makes his reservations weak. Australia's pacer Mitchell Starc last played IPL in 2015 because he knows the amount of workload he would have to put in but he reserves it for national duty.

Ben Stokes can do the same by resting in IPL to stay fresh before the home season which includes high-octane Ashes. The selective pointing is not understandable by putting all the blame on cricket boards and not on the players, who wants to play leagues and earn huge bucks (which is their right).