Ben Stokes is set to join Rajasthan Royals after missing the initial couple of weeks of IPL 2020 to be with his ailing father in Christchurch. Rajasthan Royals, on Saturday (October 3), tweeted a picture of Stokes en route to the UAE, with the England allrounder set to land on Sunday Morning. The allrounder had earlier posted images of him with his family on Instagram with the caption: 'goodbyes never get easier'. As per the IPL rules related to the COVID-19 protocols, Stokes will have to undergo six days of quarantine on arrival in the UAE, and is likely to be available for the match against Delhi Capitals on October 14. He might be available for RR's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on October 11 too, but it might be too soon to field him straightaway.
Earlier in the summer, Stokes pulled out of the Pakistan Test series midway in order to be with his father who was diagnosed with cancer. Stokes later revealed how his father's cancer diagnosis meant that his 'head wasn't really in' cricket and how he was grateful that he received an indefinite compassionate leave from the ECB.In order to get ready for his IPL stint, Stokes started practising with the red ball midway this month ("Wrong colour ball but training's training," he captioned a post on Instagram) at the Sydenham Cricket Club in Christchurch. The Royals have so far won two out of their three matches but Stokes in the line-up will give their team the much-needed balance. In his absence, Rajasthan Royals have won two of their three matches defeating Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab before losing to Kolkata Knight Riders. Stokes will still be an invaluable addition to the side given their thin lower order.
