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Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes experienced all-rounder Ben Stokes made the "right decision" to withdraw from the T20 World Cup.
On Tuesday, Stokes took the fans by surprise by announcing his decision to opt out of the selection for their title defence for the marquee event, which will take place in June 2024 in the West Indies and USA. England's Test skipper's primary focus is to get fully fit and bowl not only for the summer of Test cricket, which includes two three-match Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, respectively but for all formats in the future. Hussain gave his take on Stokes's decision and feels that it doesn't come as a surprise but will serve as a blow for England. "It's not a surprise but it is a bit of a blow. You want your big-game players. England had a very poor 50-over World Cup and you feel that Rob Key and the selectors are going to change a little bit," said Nasser Hussain, as quoted from Sky Sports. Stokes was a part of England's 2022 T20 World Cup-winning team and amassed 110 runs at an average of 36.66 and claimed six wickets as well. He scored the winning run in the 2022 final, smashing his first T20I half-century as England defeated Pakistan by five wickets at the MCG Over the years, the 32-year-old has produced match-winning knocks when England were stuck in a dire situation. Hussain feels Stokes would be missed under such circumstances and said, "In a big game or during a semi-final, you'd want to have someone like Stokes around but I think he's made the right decision." Under Stokes's leadership, England recently suffered a 4-1 Test series loss against India in February. Hussain is hopeful that the defending champions will bounce back and show a better fight in the much-awaited tournament. "I felt it was like a bit of the end of an era for that great white ball side that Eoin Morgan built and Buttler took over. They are defending champions of this title and you hope they will have a better grasp of it than they did in India," Hussain said. England's ICC Men's T20 World Cup defence starts against Scotland on June 4 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. They will then play group matches against Australia, Oman, and Namibia in Barbados and Antigua before qualifying for the Super 8s and knockouts. (ANI)
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