TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals (RR) director of cricket and head coach, on Friday did not hold back and questioned Sam Curran’s absence from the playoffs after the England all-rounder was ruled out with a “season-ending” groin injury but has played for Surrey in three Vitality Blast matches.The England all-rounder had moved from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to RR last November via a trade, which included Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja.“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,” he told reporters after RR bowed out of IPL 2026, losing Qualifier 2 by seven wickets to Gujarat Titans.“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.”Curran has played three games for Surrey, scoring 141 runs, but the all-rounder is yet to bowl a single over in the competition.Sangakkara also questioned Curran’s commitment while citing the examples of several players who didn’t get much game time, but admitted the unavailability of players is affecting the IPL.“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.“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.Before the start of IPL 2026, in a conversation with BBC, Curran had said he had been carrying the injury since the 2026 T20 World Cup.“It’s an injury that I’ve kind of been battling with a little bit. It has gradually gotten worse. Missing the IPL was very disappointing,” he had said.Curran was bought back by CSK for Rs 2.4 crore for IPL 2025, which he finished with 114 runs and only one wicket in five games. It will be interesting to see whether the England all-rounder is retained by RR for next season.
