'Frustration watching from home'- Sam Curran gutted not participating in IPL 2022

Young England all-rounder Sam Curran rues not participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The 23-year-old, who did well for the Chennai Super Kings in the last couple of seasons, is giving the ongoing edition a miss due to his fitness issues. The southpaw had suffered a stress fracture on his lower back during the second leg of IPL 2021 in October.

Owing to the same, he was ruled out of the T20 World Cup 2021 and the Ashes 2021-22. While he was expected to make a comeback in IPL 2022, England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) medical staff advised him not to register for the auction. With the IPL being one of the most prominent T20 competitions going around, Curran is gutted about missing the action.

I definitely want to go back to the IPL: Sam Curran

He, however, also admitted that his decision of not participating in the auction was a fruitful one. “I’m gutted not to be there. It’s a frustration watching from home. I wanted to go [into the auction] but I didn’t at the end – which was probably the best decision. Looking back, (the) IPL probably came a little bit too soon,” Curran told ESPNcricinfo.

The England all-rounder further said that he could have participated in the competition but wanted to avoid any risk of injuries. “I could have probably rolled the dice and said ‘let’s go’. I’m back bowling in the nets now, so if you work it out, I could probably have been bowling out there. But I’m still quite young, so I didn’t want to overdo it with the match intensity and big crowds out there and risk another injury from coming back too early,” he added.

The youngster further said he’s determined to be a part of the IPL again as the tournament teaches a lot about T20 cricket. “I definitely want to go back [to the IPL] at some stage because you learn so much about your T20 game there: it’s a tournament where you live and breathe cricket. You go down for breakfast every day and you’re sitting with superstars, sitting down and chatting about the game,” he further said.