Stupid not to look at Ben Stokes as England's ODI captain: Rob Key

England's managing director, Rob Key, has openly said that it would be "stupid" not to consider all-rounder Ben Stokes as the next ODI captain. With Jos Buttler stepping down after a poor ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, England's management is looking for a leader to restructure their struggling white-ball squad. Given Stokes' track record and leadership abilities, he comes out as a natural contender for the role. 

In the 2025 Champions Trophy, the team failed to secure a single victory, leading to an early group-stage exit. This failure prompted Buttler to resign as captain. As the ECB finding potential candidates, Key believes Stokes should be a serious option despite his primary focus on Test cricket.

England's Test skipper has been a strong figure in red-ball cricket, putting an aggressive and fearless approach. His leadership qualities and ability to inspire teammates make him an attractive choice for the ODI captaincy. 

"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. I think nothing's off the table really. 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. 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'," he said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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We don't want to risk other things as well: Rob Key 

However, Stokes has not played ODIs since the 2023 World Cup, a tournament he returned for after initially retiring from the format in 2022. He had kept the door open for the 2025 Champions Trophy but was ruled out due to a hamstring tear he suffered during England's Test series in New Zealand. Currently, he is undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to be fit for the summer.

"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? 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." he added.

One of the primary concerns regarding the southpaw taking on another captaincy role is workload management. England's schedule is packed, featuring Test series against India and Australia, along with an ODI series against West Indies, South Africa, and Ireland. Key stressed upon the importance of considering how this added responsibility would impact Stokes.

"When you start looking at it, I believe that Test cricket and 50-over cricket are probably closer than T20s, which is the outlier now. So then that makes different things," Key further said.

If Stokes is deemed unfit for the role due to workload concerns, England could look at Harry Brook as a potential candidate for the T20I captaincy while keeping the ODI leadership open. Brook has already led England in Buttler's absence and is viewed as a future leader.