'Nothing's Off The Table': Rob Key Confirms Ben Stokes In Contention To Become England's Next White-Ball Captain

Champions Trophy 2025: Following England's disappointing performance in the Champions Trophy 2025, Jos Buttler, who led the side in the tournament, has resigned as the Three Lions' white-ball captain. England failed to seal a single win in the group stage of the ICC event and had to take an early flight back home. Now, the topic of discussion has been who will become England's new ODI and T20I captain.

England's Run In Champions Trophy 2025

The Three Lions started their CT 2025 journey with a poor performance and conceded a five-wicket defeat against Australia. In their second game of the tournament, England shocked the world after they conceded a five-run defeat to Afghanistan in Lahore. Jos Buttler's side ended their run in the Champions Trophy 2025 after a seven-wicket loss against South Africa in Karachi.

ALSO READ: Sunil Gavaskar SLAMS Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill Ahead of Champions Trophy Final vs New Zealand

Rob Key Backs Ben Stokes To Become England's Next White-Ball Captain

Throwing light on the debate, England Cricket Team's managing director and former cricketer Rob Key confirmed that Test captain Ben Stokes is one of the contenders for the leadership role. Key said that the management has been looking at every option, keeping in mind what would be best for the team. The 45-year-old also lauded Stokes, saying that the all-rounder is one the best skippers he has seen. The managing director of the Three Lions confirmed that they are not going to rush to make the decision.

"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. We're not going to rush this decision as well. We'll take a bit of time," Key said, as quoted by Sky Sports.

ALSO READ: Rahul Tripathi Recalls When MS Dhoni Boosted His Confidence Ahead Of IPL Debut

Ben Stokes Played His Last ODI Game In 2023

Stokes' last ODI match was during the World Cup 2023; following that, he resigned from the 50-over format. Meanwhile, his last match with England in T20Is was in 2022. The 33-year-old has impressive numbers in the 50-over format. He had played 114 matches in ODIs, scoring 6719 runs at a strike rate of 59.71.

England's next white-ball series will be against West Indies, starting from May 29, where they will lock horns for three ODIs and T20Is. Prior to that the Three Lions will be playing one-off Test against Zimbabwe on May 22.