Former England player Steve Harmison has recently shared his views as he believes the idea of Ben Stokes being made captain of the Test team won’t work. However, he is a potential candidate to replace Joe Root as captain if the ongoing Ashes series goes worse from now on.
The veteran also feels that captaincy responsibility for Ben Stokes across three formats would be very tough for him. While Harmison believes in his abilities, he stated that it might get tough for him as well. While speaking to Sportsmail, Harmison said:
“Make Ben captain? That would be the worst thing they could do. That would be as bad as anything that has happened at Brisbane. Nasser bowling first, my first ball, and then Joe batting first this time.”
Steve Harmison further added:
“When Ben decided to take some time away from the game that was the lightbulb moment. We have to protect our superstars and putting too much pressure on Ben would be the biggest mistake of all.”
“You can’t ask him to do all that” – Steve Harmison on Stokes
Ben Stokes, however, returned to action for the ongoing Ashes series after taking a break to treat his mental health and recover from a finger injury also. However, the all-rounder has been impressive with the ball but he is yet to do well with the bat.
Stokes is considered one of the vital cogs of the team across all formats. But Steve Harmison believes it is almost impossible for the ace all-rounder to don all the hats.
“I’m sorry. Ben Stokes can’t play for the England Test team, 50-over side, T20 team, and Rajasthan Royals and be Test captain. You can’t ask him to do all that. He’d do the job and he will have a go at me for saying this but even though he’s superhuman at times that would be too much,” Harmison added.
While Joe Root and Chris Silverwood are under the scanner following two successive losses in the Ashes. Stokes, being vice-captain, led the team for a while on the penultimate day of the Adelaide Test and earned praise for his leadership from the veteran Australia captain Ricky Ponting as well.
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