The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League has already lost a couple of star players due to injury or personal reasons. Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes might be the new addition in that list. Royals head coach Andrew McDonald has recently admitted they have not heard from the cricketer and is not sure about Stokes’ participation in IPL 2020.

Meanwhile, Stokes has been going through some family issues after his father suffered from brain cancer. The Rajasthan Royals all-rounder is currently in New Zealand to be with his parents in these testing times. He missed that limited-overs series against Pakistan and the following series against Australia.

Not sure about Stokes’ participation in IPL 2020 – McDonald

As speculations continue to rife, Rajasthan Royals head coach Andrew McDonald has admitted that he is not sure about Ben Stokes’ participation in IPL 2020. He also shared his thought with Stokes and his family and also revealed that they are giving him time to come to terms before joining the squad.

“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 said to ESPNCricinfo. 

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes went through sleepless nights before deciding to visit New Zealand. 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 Weekend Herald, the star all-rounder said he needed mental peace during that time.

“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,” he added. 

So far, Ben Stokes has played 34 matches scoring 635 runs with the highest score of 103. He also has 26 wickets to his name.