Star England all-rounder Ben Stokes' IPL campaign came to an abrupt end after sustaining a finger fracture during Rajasthan Royals' opening game against Punjab Kings, the franchise confirmed on Tuesday.
Stokes will, however, remain in India for a week before flying back to United Kingdom.
"Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ben Stokes injured a finger on his left hand while fielding during the team's match against Punjab Kings on 12 April 2021 in Mumbai," Royals said in a statement after reports emerged in British media about his injury.
"Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a broken finger, which will unfortunately rule him out of the remainder of IPL 2021 season."
This is another telling blow for the Royals after the franchise missed the services of Jofra Archer due to a hand surgery.
"Everyone at Rajasthan Royals absolutely admires Ben for being such a huge asset and a valuable member of the Royals family, both on and off the field, and wishes him a speedy recovery.
"We are delighted that Ben would like to stay with the group to provide his valued support and inputs off the field. In the meantime, we will be reviewing potential replacement options for the remainder of the season," the statement further said.
Stokes sustained the injury when he went for the catch which dismissed Chris Gayle.
"Having dropped a chance earlier in the match, Stokes ran in from long on and dived forward to complete the dismissal of the West Indian batsman. He immediately felt discomfort in his left hand, grimacing as he got up to celebrate with his teammates," British newspaper 'Independent' had reported.
It was due to the injury that Stokes didn't bowl more than one over with Punjab Kings scoring a massive 222.
"The Independent understands that Stokes will remain out in India for a week. Dialogue has already begun between the ECB and Royals around managing the injury," the newspaper said.
"He will have an X-Ray in India (Mumbai) on Thursday to determine how much damage has been done before the ECB take over the planning of the recovery," it further said.
