England all-rounder Sam Curran ruled out of T20 World Cup due to lower back injury

With a lower-back injury, England allrounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the ongoing IPL and the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup. His brother Tom Curran has been called up to the England squad as a replacement, and Reece Topley has been added as a travelling reserve. The Currans are currently in the United Arab Emirates for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. Sam, a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player, complained of back pain after the team’s match against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. He did not bat and allowed 55 runs in his four overs. It was only his second appearance in three weeks.

“Results of the scan revealed the injury,” an ECB release said. “He will fly back to the UK in the next couple of days and will have further scans and a full review later this week from the ECB’s medical team,” the statement added.

Sam has conceded 111 runs in eight wicketless overs in his two appearances in the UAE, with the team management preferring Dwayne Bravo’s experience as a bowling allrounder.

‘EXTREMELY GUTTED’

“Extremely gutted. Absolutely loved my time with Chennai this season,” Sam said in a video posted by the Super Kings. “The boys are doing extremely well. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m leaving the team in a fantastic space. The boys are playing really good cricket. I want to be supporting them from where I am the next few days. Once it’s all sunk in, I’ll definitely be supporting the team, and I’m sure they can go all the way and lift the trophy”

Meanwhile, Tom has yet to appear for the Royals in the second leg of the IPL. He is coming off a solid Hundred performance, though, with 10 wickets in eight matches for Oval Invincibles.

Members of the England team currently competing in the IPL will join the World Cup squad in the UAE. Non-IPL players and support staff arrived in Muscat on Tuesday for a brief camp. They will train for ten days before travelling to Dubai for tournament warm-up matches against India on October 18.

Curran, 23, complained of back pain following the IPL match against the Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi last Saturday. Following scans, the nature of his injury was revealed, and he was ruled out of the marquee international tournament, which begins on October 17. Curran took nine wickets at an economy of 9.93 in nine IPL games this season and scored 56 runs from four innings.

England, the 2010 champions, begin their quest for a second T20 title on October 18 with a warm-up match against India in Dubai. They are grouped with Australia, South Africa, and the defending champions West Indies in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.

England T20 World Cup Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Travelling Reserves: Liam Dawson, Reece Topley, James Vince