Ben Stokes remains uncertain for IPL 2020: RR coach Andrew McDonald

England all-rounder Ben Stokes' participation in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) still remains uncertain. With just five days to go for the cash-rich league to begin, the Rajasthan Royals are in a spot of bother and are still unsure about the Englishman's involvement in the IPL 2020. Ben Stokes is currently in New Zealand with his ailing father, who has been diagnosed with brain cancer.

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Rajasthan Royals coach speaks on Ben Stokes' participation in IPL 2020

Ben Stokes had pulled out from the recent Pakistan series after the first Test and subsequently skipped the T20I series against the Men in Green. He also chose to stay out of the limited-overs series (T20I and ODI) against Australia as well. Ben Stokes' absence from the England squad has given birth to a lot of conjecture of him missing the IPL 2020.

Now, Rajasthan Royals head coach Andrew McDonald has opened up on Ben Stokes' participation in the IPL 2020. While speaking to ESPNCricinfo, McDonald confiirmed that there is no clarity over the all-rounder's availability for the tournament. He stated that it is a difficult scenario, so they are giving Stokes as much time and privacy as he needs and connecting with him in the best way that they can. McDonald reckoned that at the moment, they are not sure about Ben Stokes but added that once everything is played out, then they can make their decisions.

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Ben Stokes is one of the most crucial members of the RR squad for the IPL 2020. The southpaw has the ability to change games with his batting, bowling and fielding. If he pulls out from the lucrative league, it will be an irreplaceable loss for the Rajasthan Royals. The franchise would hope that the star all-rounder joins them in the UAE as soon as possible. 

Ben Stokes IPL salary

The Ben Stokes IPL salary in 2016 was a whopping ₹14.50 crore when he was brought by the Rising Pune Supergiants. In 2018, Ben Stokes IPL salary slumped bit when he was bought by the Rajasthan Royals. Currently, the Ben Stokes IPL salary stands at ₹12.50 crore. 

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RR squad for IPL 2020

Steve Smith (Captain), Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Yashasvi Jaiswal, David Miller, Aniruddha Joshi, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, Anuj Rawat, Shreyas Gopal, Shashank Singh, Rahul Tewatia, Mayank Markande, Jofra Archer, Varun Aaron, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Tom Curran, Oshane Thomas and Akash Singh.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BEN STOKES INSTAGRAM