England coach Matthew Mott says the “door is open” for Ben Stokes to come out of 50-over retirement and play in the World Cup in India later this year.
To manage his workload, England Test captain Ben Stokes, 31, retired from one-day internationals last summer.
However, the all-rounder did not rule out a comeback last year after leading England to victory in the T20 World Cup final.
Mott stated that England is content to wait for a decision.
“The door is always open for a player of that quality, but we are also very aware that his main focus as captain is red-ball cricket,” Mott said ahead of England’s three-match One-Day International series against South Africa, which begins on Friday.
Stokes was named man of the match in the 2019 World Cup final, which England won in a dramatic super over over New Zealand.
When he announced his surprise retirement last July, he stated that “there is too much cricket crammed in” for players to play all three formats.
He said at the time that a World Cup return would be impossible “unfair” to those chosen in his place, but when asked again in November before a Test series in Pakistan, he replied, “Who knows? Being out here right now, my sole focus is on this series.
“Going to a World Cup and representing your country is an incredible experience. But I’m not even thinking about it right now.”
When asked if England would give Stokes a deadline to make a decision, Mott said: “On this, I’ve had some fruitful discussions with Jos [Buttler, captain] and Rob Key [director of England men’s cricket].