Rajasthan Royals head coach and former Australian cricketer Andrew McDonald said that the franchise still has doubt over the availability of the England star all-rounder Ben Stokes for the 13th edition of Indian Premier League. The 29-year-old all-rounder had missed the second and third Tests against Pakistan due to family reasons. The head coach said that the franchise is ready to give an ample amount of time but they are still unsure about Stokes’ availability for IPL 2020.

“First and foremost, thoughts with the Stokes family. It’s a difficult scenario, so we’re giving him as much time as he needs, and connecting with him as best we can,” ESPNcricinfo quoted McDonald as saying.

“So yeah, we’re not sure where Stokesy’s at right now, but once it has played out, then we can make our decisions from there. But I don’t want to second-guess what will happen with him just yet,” he added.

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The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

Rajasthan will face Chennai Super Kings in their opening game on September 22.