Ben Stokes among contenders for England ODI captaincy following Jos Buttler’s departure

England’s Test skipper, Ben Stokes, is one of the possible candidates for the ODI captaincy. Rob Key, the director of men’s cricket, has stated that it would be ‘stupid’ not to consider him for the role.

England are on the hunt for a white-ball leader after Jos Buttler’s resignation following another 50-over debacle in the Champions Trophy 2025. Stokes retired from ODI cricket in 2022; however, he made a U-turn to feature in the 2023 World Cup.

The English all-rounder had also kept a door open for the Champions Trophy 2025. However, another hamstring injury in a few months ruled him out of contention. The English all-rounder is currently recovering from his surgery in Abu Dhabi, where he is training with a group of England Lions players. 

If Stokes is given the nod for leadership, he would assume the captaincy in ODIs, while the T20I responsibilities might potentially go to Harry Brook. Key believes it would be unwise not to consider Stokes as a credible option. 

“I think nothing’s off the table really,” Key said. “You look at every single option and you think, right, what is the best thing to do? How is that going to impact on other things? Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I’ve ever seen. So it would be stupid not to look at him. It’s just the knock-on effect of what that means.

Key highlighted the capability Stokes has in his leadership. “He’s an unbelievably good tactician, which we’ve seen in Test cricket, but he’s a leader of men. He’s someone who gets the best out of people. He’s someone that, when the pressure is really on, he’s able to throw a blanket around the players and actually say, ‘no, no, this is the way forward. Keep going with it’.

“They’re the qualities that you need in leadership. Ben’s, as we know, an outstanding player, an outstanding leader. It’s more about, what would that then mean to him? What would that then mean to his workload?” he said.

“We don’t want to risk other things as well. But there’s always a way in England, I think, where you start looking at, ‘what if it goes wrong?’ You’ve also got to think, ‘what if it goes right?’. They’re the decisions that I have to make,” Key added.

Key also highlighted that Brook is also a strong contender for a leadership role and would feed off from Stokes if the latter has the ODI captaincy. “I think Harry Brook would be an outstanding captain actually. I was cautious about Ben Stokes doing it and having too much, and look how that’s gone,” he said.

“I think he (Stokes) might bring out the best in Harry Brook. Being able to go out there and feel like the extra responsibility sometimes is the best thing that can happen for them. Sometimes, it’s not. They’re the decisions you have to work out.”