England’s finest all-rounder, Ben Stokes, is likely to miss the first half-season of the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The veteran player left Pakistan vs England test matches in midway after his father was diagnosed with brain cancer in Newzealand’s Christchurch.
It might be a blow for Rajhastan Royals to miss the professional services of Stokes. However, he will be available after some time and no permanent replacement has been revealed yet. The side is super cooperative with him and the allowance of leniency must be pleasing for the player as he can spend quality time with his family.
The player has ended his fourteen-days isolation and will be seeing his father. There are no burdens induced upon him by the franchise and when he feels like, he will fly to Dubai.
IPL 2020: Ben Stokes to miss the first-half season
“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 privy to developments in the franchise said, as quoted by Star Sports.
“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 source added.
“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,” Stokes had told the Weekend Herald on Saturday after reaching New Zealand.
