The 32-year-old cricketer was dropped as Test wicketkeeper last summer and though he was previously axed before the 2023 Ashes in favour of Jonny Bairstow, he admitted it felt more "final" this time round.
He told telegraph Sport: “This felt more final than the Ashes. Then it was like ‘we’ve got too many players to fit in the slots – not necessarily that we don’t like your skill set’. That’s probably easier to accept, however hard it is to get dropped. Whereas when it’s ‘yeah, we’re just moving on’ – I think naturally, it feels like more of an ending.
“When you essentially get racked off, it’s a weird position to be in in terms of motivation. I’ve always felt that I might still play for England and had that desire to get back in. That’s always the driving force. Now, they’re looking to go a fresh way.
“It’s the most difficult I’ve experienced because, in the past, I’ve always felt like there was a way back, with the merry-go-round of Jonny, Jos [Buttler] and me.
"It always felt like you weren’t out of it. I think when they go fresh start and kind of park guys, under this regime, it’s quite obvious. If they back someone, they give them a good run. So I think just naturally, the way everything kind of lays out, it’s unlikely that you could get another go.”
And Ben admitted he's had no contact from the England management in the nine months since he received the brief call telling him he was dropped.
He said: “I knew I was dropped already – just because of the way that lads were being pulled out of games.
“You don’t need a degree to work out that if you haven’t been told, you’ve been dropped. I knew it was coming. Then I got told I was dropped. And then ever since, no contact.
“I was like ‘you don’t need to explain anything. I know what’s going on here.’ And then that’s it.”
The Surrey player thinks England don't regard wicketkeepers in the same way that other countries do.
He said: “I definitely think England views keeping differently to other countries. I think a lot of countries go more down the keeping route. We obviously don’t do that as much, and that’s just their preference.”
