The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) can be expected to miss their premier all-rounder, Ben Stokes during the first part of the T20 event as the World Cup-winner is currently in New Zealand with his ailing father Ged. Stokes decided to leave for New Zealand in the middle of the Test series against Pakistan last month after his father, a former All Blacks International, was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was bought by Royals for ₹12.5 crores ahead of IPL 2018.
Describing the same, one of the sources of PTI said, “As per quarantine rules in New Zealand, Ben has just completed his 14-day isolation period after reaching New Zealand. Now he will be meeting his father and obviously he would like to spend some quiet time with his family in this time of crisis.”
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He further added, “It is only logical that if he has just completed his quarantine, he would not be available for the first part of the IPL and that is completely understandable. The franchise will not even call Ben as this is not a priority at the moment. Let him spend quality family time and any discussions on his availability can happen only after that.”
The IPL is scheduled to be commencing on September 19 in the UAE, as it was moved out of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will conclude on November 10. It is understood that the Rajasthan- based franchise will “wait” for Stokes to get back to the management and only if the cricketer confirms his availability for the second half, will take things forward.
in his career so far, the 29-year-old has played 67 Tests, 95 ODIs, and 26 T20Is. He was the crucial cog for England in their World Cup-winning campaign besides an epic match-winning century in an Ashes Test match in 2019. Recently, he single-handedly won a Test against West Indies despite not being completely fit with a century and a half-century in each innings and three wickets.
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Talking about the same as per the quotes in Weekend Herald, Ben Stoke said, “I didn’t sleep for a week and my head wasn’t really in it. Leaving was the right choice from a mental point of view.”
