England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League 2021 after sustaining a finger fracture during Rajasthan Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.
Stokes will, however, remain in India for a week before flying back to United Kingdom.
”Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes injured a finger on his left hand while fielding during the team’s match against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2021 in Mumbai,” Royals said in a statement.
”Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a broken finger, which will unfortunately rule him out of the remainder of IPL 2021 season,” it added.
Stokes injured his finger while taking a catch to dismiss Punjab batsman Chris Gayle and left the field to get treatment. He bowled just one over before the blow to his finger, giving away 12 runs.
He returned to bat and was caught and bowled by pace bowler Mohammed Shami for nought.
”Everyone at Rajasthan Royals absolutely admires Ben for being such a huge asset and a valuable member of the Royals family, both on and off the field, and wishes him a speedy recovery.
We are delighted that Ben would like to stay with the group to provide his valued support and inputs off the field. In the meantime, we will be reviewing potential replacement options for the remainder of the season,” the statement further said.
This is another blow for the Royals after they missed the services of Jofra Archer due to a hand surgery.
Rajasthan, led by India’s Sanju Samson, will next play Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on Thursday.
