Sangakkara questions Sam Curran's IPL absence

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has questioned Sam Curran's decision to pull out of the ongoing IPL after the allrounder was spotted turning out for Surrey in the T20 Blast.

Curran was set to be a key part of the Royals lineup after moving from Chennai Super Kings as part of a trade deal alongside Ravindra Jadeja. However, after the T20 World Cup, Curran had pulled out of the IPL with a groin injury, with RR eventually replacing him with Dasun Shanaka.

The Sri Lankan allrounder featured just seven times for the Royals, including the second qualifier which they lost on Friday (May 29). Speaking after the match, Sangakkara revealed that he was disappointed to see Curran turn out for Surrey with the IPL still on. "We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury," Sangakkara said. "But I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now. So that was disappointing."

Curran has captained Surrey in all three games so far and is the top run-getter in the tournament, even though he hasn't bowled yet. A couple of months ago, Curran had said: "It's an injury that I've kind of been battling with… It has gradually got fractionally worse. I went for a couple of scans and it showed reasonable damage, so I had to make the tough decision… To miss the IPL was very disappointing."

Sangakkara welcomed the BCCI's policy on imposing a ban on players pulling out after being picked in the auction, while also praising the overseas stars in their squad who warmed the bench for most parts of the season. "I think a proper tight policy around that is always a requirement," he stated. "And the BCCI has a strict policy on that… We've also had players like Adam Milne, Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kwena Maphaka — they've done the hard yards, they've practised, they've carried water for the team… I think the BCCI policy around it is very strict now. And that's the way it should continue to be."