England batter Joe Root has deemed Test skipper Ben Stokes as the best player that the country has ever produced as he praised the match-winning ability of Stokes on Tuesday.

Stokes retired from ODI cricket in July 2022 but reversed his decision and was named in England's provisional squad for the ICC Men's World Cup later this year in India.

"You look at the two World Cup finals we won, and he won for us. Even the one we lost against West Indies in 2016, he still took on the big moment – he wanted that final over. To be able to come back from that in the manner that he has and deliver some of the things he has done in an England shirt is a testament to what a legend he is in the game. Probably, I think, the best player we've ever produced as a country," Root told ESPN Cricinfo on Tuesday.

His return from retirement was hinted in England's ODI and T20I head coach Matthew Mott's recent interview with The Daily Mail, in which he stated, "Jos Buttler will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben's pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he's keen."

Stokes was one of the heroes of England's win over New Zealand in the epic finale at the 2019 World Cup. When the chips were down, Stokes produced a Player of the Match-winning knock of 84* to force the game into a Super Over.

After his World Cup heroics, Ben Stokes played only 10 ODIs as England adopted a strategy to balance players' workloads across various formats. Eventually, Stokes decided to step away from ODIs to extend his career in other formats. He is poised to make his ODI comeback in England's upcoming four-match series against New Zealand, starting 8 September.