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ECB banned me from T20s too: Kevin Pietersen sends cheeky warning to Ben Stokes on ODI retirement

Following Ben Stokes' decision to retire from ODI cricket, Kevin Pietersen recalled his own decision to quit the 50-over format. Pietersen claimed he had complained about the schedule during his own time while leading England. Stokes asserted in his statement that it was unsustainable for him to play all three formats of the game.

TN Sports Desk

Updated Jul 19, 2022, 21:45 IST

Kevin Pietersen reacted to Ben Stokes' retirement and took a sly dig at ECB |Courtesy-IANS/AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Ben Stokes has retired from ODI cricket
The first England-South Africa ODI is Stokes' last in the format
Stokes has played a total of 105 ODIs for England

In a decision that no one saw coming in the cricket fraternity, Ben Stokes announced his retirement from ODI cricket on Monday (July 19). The star England all-rounder stated it was no longer sustainable for him to continue playing all three formats of the game and give it his all.

Stokes his playing his last game in the 50-over format currently in the ongoing game between England and South Africa at Durham. This game is Stokes' 105th and last in the format which he has ruled for many years. Overall, Stokes has 2919 runs with the bat that includes three centuries. He has also taken 74 wickets in 50-over cricket.

Reacting to Stokes' retirement, ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen recalled his own decision to quit white-ball cricket. Sending Stokes a hilarious warning, Pietersen made a big claim saying that while he retired from 50-over cricket, the England Cricket Board (ECB) banned him from T20s.

"I once said the schedule was horrendous and I couldn’t cope, so I retired from ODI cricket & the ECB banned me from T20s too…………." wrote Pietersen on Twitter alongside a laughing emoji.

Ahead of his farewell game against South Africa, Stokes opened up on his decision to quit the format and claimed that it is a move aimed at giving him the best possible chance to have a longer Test career and gave the example of James Anderson and Stuart Broad to justify it.

“I look at how Jimmy and Broady's careers have gone since they stopped playing white-ball cricket... I want to play 140, 150 Test matches for England. It's come earlier than I would have liked but in T20 cricket I bowl 2 or 3 overs here and there. Hopefully when I'm 35, 36 I can look back on this decision and say I'm happy with it," said Stokes to Sky Sports.

“You always want to be contributing to your team and need to be on it, 100% of the time. We're not cars where you can fill us up with petrol. It does all add up, it does have an effect on you. The schedule is jam-packed and you're asking a lot of the players to keep putting in 100% of their efforts every time you walk onto the field for your country,” he concluded.

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