Sam Curran had come into the Rajasthan Royals (RR) as part of a trade deal that was something of a bonus for the franchise — RR sent Sanju Samson to Chennai Super Kings for ₹18 crore, received Ravindra Jadeja for ₹14 crore and Curran for ₹2.4 crore, and still had ₹1.6 crore left in the bank.
Two genuine players in one deal and money to spare. It’s the start of the IPL and Curran is injured, ruled out for the entire season. Fair enough one would say, as carrying an injured player is no way of doing things in a high stakes IPL season. This happened ahead of the start of IPL in March 2026.
Cut to May 22, 2026 and Curran is playing for Surrey, his county club in the T20 Blast 2026. And it is not a one-off game, he plays two more, one right on the very day RR get knocked out of IPL 2026, losing the Qualifier 2 to Gujarat Titans when his replacement Dasun Shanaka failed big time.
A visibly frustrated Kumar Sangakkara, RR’s Director of Cricket and Head Coach, let go of his usual diplomatic composure and directly called out the England all-rounder.
‘Season-Ending’ for the IPL, Game-Ready for Surrey
“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 said bluntly.
The True Cost of Unavailability
While Curran has not yet bowled an over for Surrey to protect his groin, his presence as a pure specialist batter in the English domestic circuit has left a bitter taste for a franchise that desperately needed his skill set.
Had Curran honoured his contractual commitments — even as a specialist batter given his current form of 141 runs in three games — the Royals’ middle order would have had the necessary teeth to counter Gujarat’s bowling attack. Instead, RR had to carry the financial burden of an injury replacement while their marquee trade chip flourished on a completely different continent.
Sangakkara Draws the Line
What stung Sangakkara the most wasn’t just the tactical deficit, but the absolute lack of cultural commitment. In a scathing comparison, the Sri Lankan legend lauded the unsung heroes of his squad who stayed back, ground it out in training, and supported the collective vision despite zero guaranteed game time.
“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. Kwena 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.”
Sangakkara didn’t mince words about where the accountability lay: “It’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not.”
What does Sam Curran’s future at RR look like?
This incident transcends a single match; it exposes a massive prestige and regulatory loophole where overseas players prioritise English County cricket and domestic recovery over their contracted IPL franchises. This is not without precedent — England’s limited-overs captain Harry Brook was handed a two-year IPL ban by the BCCI for a similar violation, after committing to a franchise at auction and subsequently pulling out.
Sangakkara concluded by strongly backing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to tighten the screws and penalise players who use soft medical loopholes to pull out of the tournament.
“A proper, tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that… 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.”
For Sam Curran, the immediate future in the league looks incredibly bleak. After burning his bridges with the Rajasthan management, it is highly unlikely he will see the inside of the RR dressing room again, as the franchise looks to officially write him off and seek players whose commitment matches their price tag.