Ben Stokes (Courtesy: IPLT20.om)
Ben Stokes (Courtesy: IPLT20.om)

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has added depth to the Rajasthan Royals batting line-up in IPL 2020. However, owing to inconsistent performances from Steve Smith, Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler, Rajasthan Royals’ failed to perform well as an unit and are virtually knocked out of the tournament.

Rajsthan Royals had tried young Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener. But after a few poor outings from his side, Stokes was put in that position. After struggling to fire in the initial game, Stokes has returned stronger and player some brilliant knocks for the side, including a century. He also said that he is enjoying the role of an opener.

Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes (Credits: Twitter)

I’m really enjoying this new role: Ben Stokes

“Yeah, I’m really enjoying this new role. I’d had conversations with Macca really long ago now, the IPL usually happens earlier in the year, so we had discussions even before that. I’m really enjoying the new role. It’s something that I’ve sort of always wanted to slowly and gradually get into,” Ben Stokes told ANI.

“In the England team, it’s very tough with the amount of quality of batsmen we’ve got, like Jason Roy, Tom Banton, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales and all these guys who’re all opening batsmen, so it’s a very hard place to get into. So yeah, really enjoying the opportunity and responsibility I’ve been given here at the Royals,” he said.

Read More  SRH vs MI: Revealed – Who are the impact players nominated by SRH vs MI in match 8 of IPL 2024
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes (Credits: Twitter)

Stokes missed out on the initial matches in the IPL 2020 as he went on a compassionate leave to meet his family back in New Zealand. The Jaipur franchise heavily bank on their overseas players which includes the likes of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith and Jofra Archer.

Stokes had made himself unavailable as he went on leave during the Test series against Pakistan. As he made himself unavailable for the remainder of the series due to family reasons, England have replaced the all-rounder with fast bowler Ollie Robinson.