The Rajasthan Royals all-rounder is in New Zealand with his ailing father.
The England and Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder is currently in New Zealand, attending his father who has been diagnosed with brain cancer.
Right on learning the news, Stokes left England's bio-secure bubble midway through the Test series against Pakistan when it was revealed later by senior Ben, Gerard, the former New Zealand rugby player, that he is battling a serious illness.
"I didn't sleep for a week and my head wasn't really in it," the cricketer told Weekend Herald when he landed on the Kiwi shores. "Leaving was the right choice from a mental point of view."
Stokes wasn't selected to play the T20Is versus Pakistan and is now set to miss the start of the limited-overs visit by Australia on September 4.
The 29-year-old is unlikely to play any of the games left in the international summer and with his father's health a major concern, is a doubtful participatory in the IPL 2020 at this stage.
Last thing Stokes would want is to find himself in a spot where he is mentally in Christchurch with his father and has to make an effort to concentrate on cricket in UAE.
It also becomes doubly important for Royals to keep a track with the player and see what his plans are, given Stokes' importance to the side and the need to keep in place adequate back-ups if he happens to miss games.
IPL-bound players taking part in the England-Australia ODI series which concludes on September 16, just three days before the start of T20 extravaganza in the gulf, were facing a major quarantine hurdle amid COVID-19 pandemic, which was later cleared by the BCCI with a change in SOP, as Royals COO Jake Lush McCrum informed. But Stokes' case is a lot different, with all hoping that his father overcomes the cancer battle.