With the big showpiece event just around the corner, everyone is naming the possible game-changers of the event. Similarly, England’s prominent batsman Jos Buttler had picked celebrated all-rounder Ben Stokes as the biggest game-changer for the team. England will be entering the 12th edition of the World Cup ranked as world No.1 ODI team.
Recently, the English men have been proving their mettle in the limited-overs game. They thrashed Pakistan 4-0 in the five-match ODI series. Three Lions have dominated most of their opponents in the ODIs played as of yet.
The Eoin Morgan-led team comprises many world-class cricketers. Though England haven’t won a single World Cup title, they have emerged as one of the strongest team out of the ten competitors.
Buttler: Ben Stokes the Key Player for England
Among the best players in the team, Buttler has himself been smashing bowlers all-round the park. And the very swashbuckling cricketer has named Stokes as the game-key player for the hosts.
“Ben is the biggest key player really for England. He balances the side brilliantly in the way he can bat and bowl and has a great influence on the whole team. He is one of the best all-rounders in the world and I am looking forward to him showing that with some quality performances in the World Cup,” Buttler was quoted as saying by IANS.
At present, Stokes is one of the top all-rounders across the World. He has been a part of the England squad recently as the hosts thrashed Pakistan. He played a match-winning unbeaten score of 71 runs during the 4th ODI. Stokes has scalped a total of 129 in three innings of the series, though couldn’t be of much help with wickets.
However, Stokes would definitely be one to watch out for in the upcoming showpiece event.
Meanwhile, Buttler also praised Steve Smith and Virat Kohli as incredible batters.
During the recently-concluded Indian Premier League, Buttler shared the dressing room with Smith and expressed his gratitude for the time spend. And called the Indian skipper as the in-form batsman.
“Both are obviously amazing batters. I first time saw Steve up so close this IPL, it was a great experience to watch him go about his practice and his work ethics. As for Virat, we all know what a fantastic player he is and has been. He is probably the form batsman’ for the last 12 months in the world. Two fantastic players, very different styles, but both very impressive,” he said.
England will head into the World Cup against South Africa on 30th May. It will be truly amazing to see how the mega event unfolds.