STOKES COULD MISS T20 WORLD CUP

BEN STOKES’ return to action will not come at the Indian Premier League later this month and it remains doubtful whether he will take part in the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup. The 30-year-old will not be fulfilling the remainder of his £1.4million contract with the Rajasthan Royals when the IPL, which was postponed earlier this year due to the pandemic, resumes in the United Arab Emirates from September 19. Whether he will travel to Dubai to feature in England’s attempts to win another whiteball trophy is unclear, although sources close to Stokes (left) say ‘he is not even thinking about cricket at the moment’ after taking an indefinite period off to protect his mental well-being and rest a fractured finger he had surgery on earlier this year. With squads required to be submitted to the ICC by September 10, England’s selectors will pick a 15-man group plus three reserves this weekend. An announcement is expected on Thursday. As changes can be made until October 10, seven days before the tournament’s group stage begins, Chris Silverwood could provisionally name Stokes within that 18. However, given the circumstances, the ECB may be unwilling to place any undue pressure on their talismanic all-rounder, having said they would give him ‘all the time he needs’ when he announced his break on July 30. Stokes led his country to a 3-0 whitewash over Pakistan while captaining the one-day team for the first time this summer but has missed the entire Test series against India. Meanwhile, the ICC are hopeful that crowds will be permitted at the tournament. The world governing body are awaiting confirmation from the government in the UAE.