'One of the best captains...'- Rob Key open to prospect of appointing Ben Stokes as ODI captain

According to Rob Key, the general director of men's cricket for England, it would be stupid to overlook Ben Stokes to take over as the white-ball skipper. There will be a change of leadership for England as Jos Buttler accepted responsibility for the team's dismal Champions Trophy campaign and resigned as captain after the 2019 ODI World Cup Champions lost every game.

Rob Key suggested that England may continue to have different captains for the ODI and T20I formats as they consider their options. He continued by stating that he believes Test cricket and ODIs are currently closer, with T20Is being the exception. "I believe that Test cricket and 50-over cricket are probably closer now, with T20 the outlier," said Rob Key, as quoted by Sky Sports.

Rob Key praised Ben Stokes 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," Key said of the 33-year-old. "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."

There's plenty of options - Rob Key

In 2023, Stokes played his final ODI for England at the World Cup.Currently, he is preparing for the Test summer after a surgery.  The Test team adopted the "Bazball" approach under the all-rounder.England is searching for the best candidate to succeed Buttler as captain, and Key stated that the process is expected to take a long time.  There are a lot of choices inside their ranks, according to the managing director.

"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. England and the West Indies will face off in three ODIs and T20Is in their upcoming white-ball series, which begins on May 29.  Before that, on May 22, the Three Lions will play a one-off Test match against Zimbabwe.