IPL 2021: Ben Stokes ruled out of tournament after 'suspected broken hand'
The Rajasthan Royals have suffered a massive blow to their IPL 2021 campaign as Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the tournament after reportedly suffering a broken hand following their loss to the Punjab Kings on Monday (April 12)
How did Ben Stokes suffer the injury?
The English all-rounder sustained the injury when he took a catch to dismiss Chris Gayle after spilling one chance earlier in the innings. He ran in from long on and dived forward to dismiss the batsman, but was seen flinching in pain as he celebrated the catch with his teammates.
Although he did continue to play, Ben Stokes was dismissed for a three-ball duck in their chase of 222. According to The Independent, the RR all-rounder will remain in India for a week and the ECB is already in contact with the Royals to manage the injury.
The hard-hitting all-rounder will undergo an X-Ray on Thursday to determine the extent of the damage. England will be taking on New Zealand in June later this year and will miss the services of their key players Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Chris Woakers and Jonny Bairstow, all in India playing the IPL.
The bigger concern for ECB will be whether Ben Stokes recovers in time for the five Tests against India, followed by the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup and the Ashes. He will be central to their plans and only time will tell the severity of the injury, his recovery and the way forward. Quite recently, England lost the Test series 3-1 against India. They also lost the ODI series 2-1 and the T20Is 3-2. Ben Stokes was slated to be crucial for the revenge games, however, that seems to be in question.