After his team’s IPL 2026 exit with a defeat to the Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 2 match on Friday, Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara slammed English all-rounder Sam Curran for skipping the two-month-long tournament on the pretext of an injury.
Curran, who was part of a trade deal with Chennai Super Kings ahead of the season, was roped in for Rs 2.4 crore alongside Ravindra Jadeja in exchange for Sanju Samson. However, with the Englishman conveying his unavailability thereafter, RR roped in Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as his replacement. Sangakkara, however, said it was disappointing to see Curran turn up for his county side Surrey later on.
“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now, so that was disappointing,” Sangakkara told reporters in Mullanpur after RR’s seven-wicket defeat. “We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us, but we got Dasun Shanaka as a replacement after we were informed early.”
“A proper, tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that. Every player goes through injuries, and if it’s a serious injury, a season-ending injury, of course we understand,” he said.
Curran has featured in three games for Surrey. The 27-year-old has not resumed bowling since the T20 World Cup semi-final against India in March, but racked up 141 runs in the T20 Blast competition.
Sangakkara rued the string of injuries that Rajasthan have endured this season, but took another jibe at Curran for not staying back with the side.
“We’ve had quite a few injuries. We’ve also had players like Adam Milne and Hetmyer, who’ve come here and not had much of a game. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is another one. “Kwenna Maphaka is another one. They’ve been here. They’ve done the hard yards. They’ve practised. They’ve carried water for the team, and they’ve really worked as hard as anyone else to support the team on this journey. It’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not.
“But I think the BCCI policy around it is very strict now, and that’s the way it should continue to be, to make sure that contractual obligations are met properly and genuinely. I think every side in the IPL will benefit from that,” he added.
