Former England captain Ben Stokes has clarified that he doesn’t want to make his international comeback. However, he stressed that he has a strong desire to coach the England national team in the future.
While speaking alongside his former teammates Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad on the For the Love of Cricket Podcast, Stokes has revealed that he has been pursuing level three coaching at the moment, and he has aspirations of becoming a head coach in the future.
“I’m doing my level three coaching now while I’m still playing, because I want, when the day comes that I’m not playing any more, I’d love to be able to have all that stuff signed off and done,” Stokes said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast.
“I know what I want to do in terms of staying within the game, which is to be a coach. And would I love to be the coach of England one day? Absolutely. I just really like the idea of being, again, like, in some form of leadership away from playing,” he added.
It’s important to note that Stokes stunned the cricketing world by announcing his retirement across all three formats of the game in June 2026. The New Zealand home Test series was Stokes’ last international series.
On the other hand, England managing director Rob Key has asserted that the door would remain open for the former English skipper to make a U-turn on his retirement ahead of next summer’s Ashes.
However, the all-rounder made it clear he has no intention of reversing his decision. When asked by Buttler whether he had definitely retired, Stokes replied: “Definitely.”
“I am incredibly content with everything right now. It is a decision I don’t take lightly. It has taken a lot of time. I am done. I am very happy,” Stokes had told BBC Test Match Special.
