England’s poor performance in the Champions Trophy 2025, and their horrifically poor show in the format going into the tournament, has led to speculation over whether they might choose to make Ben Stokes the ODI captain. Jos Buttler stepped down from the position after England’s final match of the tournament but former pacer Stuart Broad has said that appointing Ben Stokes as his replacement would leave him “lost for words”.
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad is not in favor of appointing Ben Stokes as the team’s next ODI captain. Broad feels that Ben Stokes bowling workload will increase a lot more if he becomes the ODI captain which will risk him being injured. Recently, England’s managing director Rob Key revealed that Ben Stokes is among the contenders for the team’s white-ball captaincy after the resignation of Jos Buttler from the role. Buttler resigned after England’s dismal Champions Trophy campaign where they crashed out of the group stage.
While Key didn’t confirm it, he admitted that Ben Stokes is one of the contenders for the role alongside Harry Brook. Stokes is already leading England’s Test team currently but hasn’t played an ODI since the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Ben Stokes international career and his tryst with injuries
Ben Stokes had reversed his retirement from ODI cricket to play the 2023 World Cup. He had kept his options in the months after the tournament and was considering playing in the Champions Trophy. However, his absence from the tournament was confirmed after he suffered a second hamstring tear in six months.
Ben Stokes has struggled to maintain full fitness and has often had to ditch bowling in Test matches. The 33-year-old is currently in a race against time to be fully fit in time for the Ashes later this year, to the point that his participation in the five-match Test series against India is in doubt.
Ben Stokes pulled out of the IPL auction to make himself fully committed to England’s Test team. The allrounder’s injury issues have affected his glorious career over the years. Ex-England cricketer Stuart Broad wants the ECB to avoid making any desperate moves for the ODI captaincy after Jos Buttler resigned during the Champions 2025.
Stuart Broad On Ben Stokes Captaining England’s ODI side post ICC Champions Trophy 2025 debacle
The former England international Stuart Broad believes that giving Ben Stokes the reins to England’s ODI side is not the right move, considering the all-rounder’s injury record. The English fast-bowling great who played 167 Tests and 121 ODIs reckons that the 50-over format can be more physically intensive than Test cricket.
“How many overs has Stokes bowled successfully in the last three years while battling his knee injuries?
Not many. And you’re going to add another eight to 10 overs in a 50-over format onto his workload? The mathematics of that make no sense,” Broad shared in an interview with The Daily Mail.
“As someone who played 121 one-day internationals, I can honestly say I found the 50-over format more tiring than Test match cricket. Why? Because it’s such high intensity. You bowl 10 overs in three and a half hours, during which you are running from fielding positions, sprinting after balls all the time, non-stop,” he added.
Broad, however, believes that Stokes may be the best captain, but the England Cricket Board (ECB) has not helped itself with scheduling the 50-over games, and the lack of structure could be an additional physical risk for Stokes.
‘Ben Stokes is the best captain we’ve got, but it doesn’t mean he’s the right person to do the 50-over job. Let’s face it, we’re not scheduling things to help the one-day team,” he said.
‘The hierarchy are not bothered by 50-over cricket. We have no structure to be able to train our players to play it, so why would you risk Ben Stokes’ body to captain something like that?” Broad questioned.
England faces a massive issue regarding who will take over the vacant captaincy spot in the 50-over setup. This comes after Jos Buttler decided to step down from the role after England’s disappointing campaign in the recently-concluded Champions Trophy 2025.
The Buttler-led side ended their tournament without a single win, having been beaten by the likes of Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa during the group stages. Harry Brook was named as England’s white-ball vice-captain in January, earlier this year, but his jump up as captain has yet to be confirmed by the ECB.
After coming off a shambolic run in the ICC Champions Trophy, several England players will be engaging in the IPL 2025 season, which will lead up to an away white-ball series. The Three Lions will face the West Indies in a three-match ODI and T20I series in various regions of England. It will be a test of their perseverance and intent after their poor streak of runs in white-ball cricket.