INDIA PREMIER LEAGUE, 2020
Ben Stokes missed the first weeks of IPL 2020 to be with his sick father in Christchurch © BCCI / IPL
Ben Stokes is set to join the Rajasthan Royals after missing the first weeks of IPL 2020 to be with his sick father in Christchurch. Rajasthan Royals, on Saturday (Oct 3), tweeted a photo of Stokes en route to the United Arab Emirates, with England’s SUV ready to land on Sunday morning. The SUV had previously posted pictures of him with his family on Instagram with the caption: “Goodbyes are never easier.”
Under IPL rules related to COVID-19 protocols, Stokes will have to undergo a six-day quarantine upon arrival in the UAE, and is likely to be available for the match against Delhi Capitals on October 14. It could be available to RR. match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on October 11 as well, but it might be too early to present it right away. Kolkata Knight Riders found it the hard way with Pat Cummins, who was bowling hours after his quarantine ended and ended up going 3-0-49-0.
In early summer, Stokes dropped out of the Pakistan Test series midway to be with his father, who was diagnosed with cancer. Stokes later revealed how his father’s cancer diagnosis meant his ‘head wasn’t really into’ cricket and how he was grateful to have received an indefinite compassionate leave from the ECB.
In order to prepare for his IPL stint, Stokes began practicing with the red ball in the middle of this month (“Wrong ball color but training training,” he captioned an Instagram post) at the Sydenham Cricket Club in Christchurch.
The Royals have won two of their three games so far, but Stokes in the lineup will give his team that much-needed balance. Tom Curran, who has been expensive with the ball in his three games so far (1-54, 1-44 and 1-37), will in all likelihood give way to Stokes.
© Cricbuzz
