England's managing director of men's cricket, Rob Key, has stated that it would be foolish to overlook Ben Stokes as a potential replacement for the white-ball skipper. As the 2019 ODI World Champions lost every match, Jos Buttler accepted responsibility for England's dismal Champions Trophy performance and stepped down as captain, bringing about a change of leadership for the team.
Rob Key on next England white-ball captain
Key made a suggestion that England might continue to have different captains for the ODI and T20I formats while they consider their options. He continued by saying that T20Is are the exception and that he believes Test cricket and ODIs are closer right now.
"I believe that Test cricket and 50-over cricket are probably closer now, with T20 the outlier," said Key, as quoted by Sky Sports.
Key praised the all-round as one of the greatest leaders he has ever seen and stated that nothing is off the table at the moment when asked whether this meant Stokes could be considered as a possibility.
"I think nothing's off the table. You look at every single option and you think, 'what is the best thing to do?' Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen, so it'd be stupid not to look at him. It's just the knock-on effect of what that means," he added.
According to Key, England is searching for the best candidate to succeed Buttler as captain and anticipates a drawn-out process.
"You're just looking for the best person, really, someone who you think can take this forward. We're not going to rush this decision as well. We'll take a bit of time," said Key.
Additionally, the managing director believes that their ranks are full with options.
"We've had a plan in place where we've looked at lots of different people, so we've seen Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook [in the role], there's plenty of options," said Key.
During the 2023 World Cup, Stokes made his final appearance for England in an ODI. Following surgery, he is currently getting ready for the Test summer. The "Bazball" strategy was implemented in the Test team under the all-rounder.