IPL 2020 | We don't know yet about the availability of Ben Stokes, reveals Andrew McDonald

The English all-rounder Ben Stokes is going through hard times and is currently present with his family in New Zealand as his father has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Now, there are doubts over his availability for the 13th edition of the IPL, which starts in just few days time from September 19. It was expected that things would become clear as we would get closer to the IPL but unfortunately for RR, that hasn't been the case.

The head coach of Rajasthan Royal Andrew McDonald said that the franchise is willing to give him as much time as possible but right now, they aren't sure whether he will be available for the season or not.

“First and foremost, thoughts with the Stokes family. It’s a difficult scenario, so we are giving him as much time as he needs, and connecting with him as best as we can. So yeah, we are not sure where Stokesy’s right now, but once it has played out, then we can make our decisions from there,” McDonald told ESPNCricinfo.

The England superstar had left the Pakistan Test series midway after the first Test, last month. Then he pulled out his name for the three-match T20Is against Pakistan and also for the three-match T20I and ODI series against Australia.

Rajasthan Royals, who last won an IPL title in 2008, will be starting their campaign in the lucrative league with a game against last year finalists, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on September 22 in Sharjah.