Ben Stokes could feature for Rajasthan Royals on Sunday
England allrounder Ben Stokes could feature for the Rajasthan Royals in their match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Sunday.
Stokes joined the team late having cut short his international season to spend time with his ailing father in New Zealand.
Stokes could feature on Sunday
The Swashbuckling allrounder completes his quarantine on Saturday but hasn’t played since the first Test against Pakistan in August.
Skipper Steve Smith said after the Royals big defeat to the Delhi Capitals that team management would discuss a potential return for the man who was once the IPL’s most expensive player.
“Ben Stokes comes out of quarantine tomorrow, we play day after. He hasn’t had any practice. So we will need to have a chat around that,” Smith said.
The Royals will be faced with an overseas professional selection dilemma with Jos Buttler and Smith taking up two batting slots and Andrew Tye and Jofra Archer taking the other two.
If Stokes comes in for Tye it could see the Royals field a team with three members of England’s World Cup-winning squad.
Archer has been in great form with the ball and chipped in with runs so it seems the Australian Tye is the man on the chopping block.
The Royals played well in patches against the Capitals but they gave up a big finish with the ball in hand and lost their way in the middle overs during the chase.
Royals need consistency
Smith is hoping for more consistency from his charges as the tournament wears on.
“Not playing good enough over the full 40 overs,” Smith griped at the post-match presentation.
“We are doing some good things in patches, but unfortunately not executing well under pressure. I think we gave a few away in the end. The wicket was not as good as it has been. It was a little stoppy. We gave away 10-15 too many.”
The Royals won their first two matches, both played at Sharjah, but have since slumped to four straight defeats. Not even a return to Sharjah’s smaller ground could get them out of their rut as the Capitals recorded a 46-run win that sends them top of the IPL standings heading into the weekend.
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