IPL 2020: Ben Stokes will miss the first part of the tournament, confirms a source

Rajasthan Royals will be missing the services of their star all-rounder Ben Stokes at least for the first part of IPL 2020, which is starting from September 19th. The England all-rounder is currently in New Zealand to be with his ailing father.

Ben Stokes, who is currently the second-best all-rounder in both Tests and ODIs as per the ICC ratings, left for Christchurch after the first Test against Pakistan last month after his father, a former Kiwi rugby player, was diagnosed with brain cancer.

“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,” a source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

It is understood that the Royals won’t even call Ben Stokes in this difficult time and will instead wait for him to arrive. For the record, the premier all-rounder was purchased by RR for IR 12.5 crore ahead of IPL 2018.

“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 priority at the moment. Let him spend quality time family time and any discussions on his availability can happen only after that,” the source added.

Ben Stokes will be looking to improve his IPL record this season

New Zealand v England - ICC Cricket World Cup Final 2019

Ben Stokes has scored 7,415 runs and picked up 242 wickets in 67 Tests, 95 ODIs and 26 T20Is. He played a crucial role in England winning their maiden World Cup and an Ashes Test in Headingley last year. Recently, an injured Ben Stokes single-handedly won England a Test match against the West Indies, scoring 254 runs and picking 3 wickets.

Ben Stokes’ IPL numbers, however, are average. In 34 matches, he has scored a meagre 635 runs at an average of 22.68 and scalped 26 wickets at an economy of 8.26.