Ben Stokes on Monday announced his retirement from ODI cricket. The star England all-rounder in his statement said that the game against South Africa on Tuesday will be his last. 

Stokes in 104 ODIs for England, has scored 2919 runs with three centuries and 21 half-centuries. He has 74 wickets against his name. One key highlight of the 31-year-old’s 50-over career was winning the player of the match in the 2019 World Cup final, where he scored 86 runs. 

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Announcing his retirement from the format, Stokes said, “This has been an incredibly tough decision to make. I have loved every minute of playing with my mates for England. We have had an incredible journey on the way.”

He added that playing all three formats was no longer sustainable for him. 

“As hard as a decision as this was to come to, it’s not as hard dealing with the fact I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in this format anymore. The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it.”

Also read: Ben Stokes retires from ODI cricket: Fans react

The England and Wales Cricket Board members said that they respect Stokes’ ‘selfless decision’. The 31-year-old was recently made England’s Test captain and had spoken about the importance of workload management. 

Several fans and former cricketers paid tribute to Stokes’ ODI career. Former Indian captain Virat Kohli, who has been in news due to his poor form, also reacted. 

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The Indian ‘run machine’ commented on Stokes’ Instagram post, saying the England all-rounder is the most competitive player he has played against. 

“You are the most competitive bloke I have ever played against. Respect,” Kohli’s comment read. 

Social media users praised the “World Cup winning hero” and remembered some of his great moments by sharing clips from his matches. 

“Not surprised that Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODIs. Like he mentioned, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to sustain playing all 3 formats and do it well enough. And when you’re the captain & an all rounder of a team that plays most Tests, it’s even tougher,” one user wrote.