Ben Stokes has revealed that his late dad loved him playing for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and he might be back playing in the IPL again next year if England’s test match schedule allows him to do so.
Stokes was speaking to the English press in an event ahead of the release of his documentary “phoenix from the Ashes” and he made some sensational revelations there. According to Stokes, he had got to a stage last year where he had started hating the game of cricket completely.
Ben Stokes said that when his father was struggling with his health quite badly during his last days, he felt he couldn’t give him enough time because of his commitments with England cricket team and it really annoyed him to an extent where he just fell out of love with the game.
Ben Stokes said, "my father really loved me playing for Rajasthan Royals. He wanted me to play cricket, but because of cricket I couldn't see him one last time, it made me hate cricket". (To Telegraph).
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 23, 2022
Stokes also revealed that he has not got rid of his mental health issues completely and he still takes the medicines prescribed to him by the doctor, but he is not in touch with the doctor as regularly as he used to be a few months back. Stokes said he never thought that he would have to consult a doctor for issues like these one day, but he has no problem speaking about it in the public.
Ben Stokes had not signed up for the mega auction before IPL 2022
Stokes had decided to not take part in the IPL earlier this year to focus on his red ball game, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of coming back to the tournament in 2023.
Recalling his time in the IPL since 2017 to 2021 when he featured for Rising Pune Super Giant and Rajasthan Royals respectively, Stokes admitted that IPL is a wonderful tournament to be a part of. But, his decision to participate in the IPL again will depend on how England’s test matches are scheduled next year, as he is the test captain of England now and his primary focus is England’s test cricket.
