English all-rounder Ben Stoke may miss the first part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he is currently with his ailing father Ged in New Zealand, reported PTI.

Stokes, who is currently ranked two on the ICC Men’s Test All-rounder ranking, left for Christchurch in between the England-Pakistan test series last month, after his father, who played for the New Zealand national team, was diagnosed with brain cancer.

According to PTI, “As per quarantine rules in New Zealand, Ben has just completed his 14-day isolation period after reaching New Zealand. Now he will be meeting his father and obviously he would like to spend some quiet time with his family in this time of crisis.”

Stokes, who was purchased by the 2008 IPL winners Rajasthan Royals in 2018 for a staggering Rs 12.5 crore, played 9 matches in 2019, scoring 123 runs and claiming six wickets.

Stokes, who has played 34 matches in the Indian Premier League, has managed to score 635 runs in the tournament over the years and has picked up 26 wickets. Stokes best performance in IPL was in 2017 for his former team Rising Pune Super Giant.

The source added, “It is only logical that if he has just completed his quarantine, he would not be available for the first part of the IPL and that is completely understandable. The franchise will not even call Ben as this is not a priority at the moment. Let him spend quality family time and any discussions on his availability can happen only after that.”

The IPL is scheduled to start from September 19 and the opening match will be played between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. The cash-rich tournament will take place in the United Arab Emirates this year due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India.

The franchise from Rajasthan will await Ben Stokes to intimate them about his decision to play in the second half of the tournament and only then will negotiations move forward, as per PTI report.

The 29-year-old won England its first ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 and was also instrumental in winning them a match in the recently concluded series against Pakistan.

Stokes after reaching New Zealand, in an interview with Weekend Herald, said, “I didn’t sleep for a week and my head wasn’t really in it,” he added, “Leaving was the right choice from a mental point of view.”