Ben Stokes is reportedly considering retirement after the nightclub controversy has put his captaincy under scanner (Credit: AP) England Test captain Ben Stokes is reportedly thinking about retiring from international cricket as the aftermath of the nightclub incident that has put him under investigation by the England Cricket Board (ECB) intensifies. After England defeated New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's, the ECB is looking into Stokes and Gus Atkinson for allegedly violating team rules. According to reports, the incident happened early on Monday morning at the Rex Rooms nightclub on King's Road in London, where they were reportedly involved in an altercation with Saracens' rugby player, Totoa Auvaa. Senior Cricketer correspondent George Dobell told talkSPORT that he believes Stokes would take action before the ECB could. "I fear from everything I hear that Stokes is going to act first. And, regretfully, I hear that he is going to step down and possibly even retire. I hope he brings this back from the brink like he has done so many games, but everything I hear is that he may well have been given some sort of ultimatum,” Dobell said. After Atkinson and a Saracens academy player got into a heated argument, a punch that was supposedly meant for the England pacer ended up hitting an ECB security guard, who needed stitches. However, Atkinson and Stokes were unharmed in the incident. The most recent episode has put Stokes' leadership under the scanner. The ECB was already under fire for similar incidents involving Harry Brook and Ben Duckett during the Ashes, which resulted in strict regulations, including a midnight curfew for players. Stokes has reportedly been offered the option by the ECB to continue his Test career while resigning as captain on his own terms. However, if he decides not to step down, the board may still remove him from the position as part of any disciplinary action resulting from the probe. Now, the prospect of retiring has become a major development in this case. The 35-year-old is reportedly considering calling it quits on his 15-year international career. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, IPL 2026, IPL Points Table, and around the Sports. Nikhil is an accomplished sports journalist with extensive experience spanning several years across digital, and multimedia platforms. Currently contr... View More