Ben Stokes Set for Comeback at English T20 Blast; Fractured Finger in IPL 2021

“Ben Stokes will be out for up to 12 weeks…He will have surgery in Leeds on Monday,” read a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) back then.

The injury occurred while Stokes was fielding during Royals’ opening match against Punjab Kings when he completed a catch in the deep to see off Punjab Kings batsman Chris Gayle. He was also the first player to reveal that England players will not be able to rejoin their IPL franchise if the tournament resumes in September. IPL has now been confirmed for late September in UAE.

“We don’t know if or when the tournament will be rearranged, but as the ECB have said it could be difficult for the England boys to have a free gap,” Stokes wrote in his column for ‘Daily Mirror’.“After this year though, I do look forward to playing a full part again at some point in the future,” he added.

Stokes said he was absolutely devastated when he got injured but after initial skepticism, decided to go for a surgery.“I can’t put a date on when I’ll be back playing again, but as long as things progress as well as they have then I should hope it will be well before the three months that was first feared and more like seven, eight, or nine weeks.”