Ben Stokes responded to reports claiming that he could return from retirement and play for England again in Test cricket during the 2027 Ashes.
The ex-England skipper reacted to the report and denied claims that he would play for the Three Lions under Joe Root’s leadership again.
For those unversed, Stokes retired from international cricket after the home series against New Zealand in June this year. Root replaced him as the captain of the side in the longest format. Post Stokes’ retirement, England removed Brendon McCullum as the head coach of their red-ball team, with Stephen Fleming replacing him.
“Please don’t waste your £1 to read this…it’s a completely misleading headline and no truth to the Ashes story what so ever!,” wrote Stokes replying to the report, which suggested he is open to a return.
Ben Stokes’ 2 Conditions For Return
The report by iPaper claimed that Stokes has set two conditions for returning to the national team set-up again. The published information claims that the legendary all-rounder would return if the circumstances were right and if new captain Root himself asked him to make a comeback, as they are close friends.
The report claims that Stokes has set red-ball cricket as his priority for next season and is committed to playing 10 County Championship games for Durham in the 2027-28 County Championship season. This means that he will not enter his name in the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction and will not play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as both competitions will clash with England’s premier domestic red-ball competition.
However, he is set to play Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) for Adelaide Strikers, which starts on December 12 and will end towards the end of January. He is likely to play next year’s Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States of America (USA).
The 2027 Ashes will take place from 19th June to 2nd August next year.