Suresh Raina has already withdrawn himself from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 while Australian paceman Kane Richardson has remained home as his wife is expecting their first child, and now a big question mark is looming over the participation of England all-rounder Ben Stokes. The Rajasthan Royals player is presently back home in New Zealand to accompany his father who has been diagnosed with brain cancer.
After shining with both the bat and the ball against West Indies, Stokes pulled out of the Pakistan series after playing just one match. Feeling the need to be with his family in this tough time, Stokes revealed that he wasn’t even able to sleep while on international duty with his England teammates. It was then that he decided to head back home and give all his attention to his family which is dealing with an incredibly hard situation at the moment.
Speaking to the Weekend Herald, Stokes revealed that he didn’t sleep for a week after coming to know of his father’s diagnosis. “I didn’t sleep for a week and my head wasn’t really in it,” Stokes said. “Leaving was the right choice from a mental point of view.”
With England now set to take on Australia, Stokes wasn’t picked for the series starting September 04 as he continues to remain absent. While it looks certain that the 29-year-old will not be playing for the national team anytime soon, dark clouds have been looming large on his participation in the IPL Season 13 that kicks-off on September 19.
England and Australian internationals were already supposed to be missing the first week’s action – due to the quarantine guidelines in the UAE – because of their late arrival for the new season but Stokes’ case seems a more complicated one.
Brain cancer remains a serious disease and Stokes would understandably want to be with his family for as long as possible. He wouldn’t want a similar situation like that of the Pakistan series where he was physically on the field but was mentally thinking about his father. Such a situation would neither help the player nor his team.
For now, no official confirmation about Stokes’ future has come but his franchise, Rajasthan Royals, would want the situation to clear soon so that they can find a replacement for the all-rounder (if needed) in due time.
