CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (AP) 鈥� Ben Stokes' white-ball career might not be over just yet.
The England cricket great said he would be open to playing again for the ODI and T20 teams following the decision to put Brendon McCullum in charge of the limited-overs set-up as well as the test side.
鈥淚f I get the call saying, 鈥楧o you want to come and play?鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 definitely going to be a 鈥榶es,'鈥� Stokes, England's test captain, said in an interview with British broadcaster Sky Sports.
Stokes, who played match-winning innings for England in the finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022, came out of ODI retirement to feature in last year鈥檚 dismal World Cup defense. After knee surgery over the winter, in June 鈥� which saw England reach the semifinals 鈥� to concentrate on his fitness.
England has launched a reboot of its white-ball teams to bring through the country's next generation and Stokes said he would be happy to watch the youngsters take center stage if that's what McCullum preferred.
鈥淭his white-ball team has gone in a new direction," Stokes said. "We鈥檝e seen some unbelievable talent come through 鈥� just to point out one, Jacob Bethell, who I think is going to be a superstar.
鈥淚鈥檝e played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, I鈥檓 very happy and content with what I鈥檝e achieved in that form of the game. If I am part of the white-ball teams鈥� plans going forward in any way, shape or form then great ... But I鈥檓 not going to be too disappointed if I don鈥檛 because it means someone鈥檚 come in and doing really well. I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.鈥�
Stokes has struck up a strong relationship with McCullum in the test set-up but said he hasn't yet spoken to the New Zealander about extending his limited-overs career. The focus instead has been getting fit for the .
鈥淗e鈥檚 just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the test team," Stokes said, 鈥渁nd when that time or conversation comes then we鈥檒l see.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice," he added, "to have all three teams now with the same messages and the same philosophies towards playing cricket, even though they鈥檙e in different forms.鈥�
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