IPL 2021: Rassie van der Dussen replaces Ben Stokes in Rajasthan Royals team

Rassie van der Dussen has been named as Ben Stokes’ replacement in the Rajasthan Royals team for IPL 2021. Stokes was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a broken left finger in Rajasthan Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings which they lost by four runs.  Following the absence of Stokes, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye and Liam Livingstone have also been ruled out of the tournament.

Archer was out of the tournament due to an elbow problem. Liam Livingstone withdrew due to bio-bubble fatigue. Tye cited coronavirus issues. van der Dussen could make his IPL debut. The right-hander will be the perfect fit for Rajasthan Royals as they look to make a comeback. According to reports, van der Dussen has joined the Rajasthan Royals side and would have to be in quarantine.

Good form shown by Rassie van der Dussen

van der Dussen was in fine form in the recent series against Pakistan played during the IPL. He smashed 123 and 60 in the two ODIs and 34, 52 in the two Twenty20 Internationals. In fact, in his last seven T20I innings, he has managed double-digit scores consistently. Ever since the series against Australia, van der Dussen has had scores of 37,24,37,25*,74*,34* and 52. Overall, van der Dussen has an average of 41 with four fifties and a strike rate of 138.

Rajasthan Royals have started inconsistently in IPL 2021. They were on the cusp of a big win against Punjab Kings but they threw away the advantage and lost by four runs despite Sanju Samson’s brilliant century. They managed to win one game against Delhi Capitals due to the efforts of Chris Morris and David Miller. 

Against Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore, they suffered big defeats but they came back to winning ways against Kolkata Knight Riders. A loss against Mumbai Indians will make their path to the playoffs very hard. Rajasthan Royals will play their remaining games in Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru in their IPL 2021 campaign.