Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League due to a broken finger, Rajasthan Royals have confirmed. The injury occurred in the Royals’ last game yesterday when Ben Stokes attempted to catch off the bat of Chris Gayle.
The Royals are already without the services of Jofra Archer and the injury to Ben Stokes will come as a killer blow to their chance in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League. RR do have the option to back David Miller or Liam Livingstone as a batting cover, but the all-around dimensions that Stokes brings will be missed dearly by the franchise if he gets ruled out for the season.
Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League due to a broken hand, Independent reported. The injury occurred in the Royals’ last game yesterday when Ben Stokes attempted ot catch off the bat of Chris Gayle.
Stokes did not bowl more than one over which he has already bowled before getting injured. The star all-rounder will be staying in India and will undergo an X-ray on April 15 to determine the extent of the injury, Independent added.
The report further added that the ECB and the Rajasthan Royals franchise have started discussions on the injury management of Stokes, who has been England’s irreplaceable player over the last couple of years.
The Royals are already without the services of Jofra Archer and the injury to Ben Stokes will come as a killer blow to their chance in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League.
The injury will also be a point of concern for the Eoin Morgan led England who were looking like they had a good shot at the T20 World Cup scheduled to be hosted in India between October and November this year.
Stokes’ injury and a possible long path of his recovery will reignite the debate around England’s star players availability in the IPL and the subsequent impact on their career for England in international cricket.
Stokes had missed the first half of the last edition of the league held in the UAE due to personal reasons. He was instrumental in Royal’s pursuit of a playoff spot, but the team could not make it to the top four of the IPL 2020.
In the absence of both Archer and Stokes, the Royals will bank upon the likes of Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman to turn things around after suffering a narrow loss in the first game of the season.
With Chetan Sakariya doing well in the last game, RR might also try to get a specialist middle-order batsman and push Jos Buttler up. They could look at someone like Devon Conway of New Zealand given he has been in top form throughout the season.