IPL 2020: Major boost for Rajasthan Royals as Ben Stokes is set to join Steven Smith and Co in the UAE

Ben Stokes is set to join Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the UAE after missing an initial couple of weeks of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

Stokes was back at home in New Zealand to be with his ailing father. RR broke the news on Saturday when they posted a photo of Stokes en route to the UAE.

The England national, who will land on Sunday, had earlier posted images of him with his family on Instagram with the caption: "goodbyes never get easier".

Stokes will undergo a six-day quarantine as per IPL rules regarding COVID-19. It is understood that Stokes will be available to play RR's IPL 2020 match against Delhi Capitals (DC) on October 14. While Steven Smith's RR face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) before the Delhi game, Stokes may not play because it could be too soon to field him straightaway in the tournament. RR could take a cue from Kolkata Knight Riders, who learnt the hard way. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) played Pat Cummins just hours after the Australian fast bowler that completed his quarantine and ended up registering disastrous figures of 49 runs in three overs.

In the recently ended English summer, Stokes had pulled out in the middle of the Pakistan Test series to fly to New Zealand to be with his father, who was diagnosed with cancer. The England all-rounder later had revealed in an interview that his "head wasn't really in" cricket after his father's diagnoses and was grateful that he received an indefinite compassionate leave from the England board.

Towards the end of last month, Stokes had begun to practice at the Sydenham Cricket Club in Christchurch in order to prepare for his IPL stint. "Wrong colour ball but training's training," he captioned a post on Instagram.

RR, who is set to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, are currently placed fifth in the IPL 2020 points table. They are among the four sides to have won two matches off their first three fixtures, the other three being Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata.