Kumar Sangakkara lashes out Sam Curran for missing IPL 2026:Says, ‘We were told he had a season-ending injury, saw him play for Surrey’

Rajasthan Royals’ head coach Kumar Sangakkara has questioned England all-rounder Sam Curran’s withdrawal from the IPL. Sangakkara said on Friday, ‘Curran left the tournament citing a season-ending injury, but later he was seen playing for Surrey in England, which is disappointing.’ The former Sri Lankan left-handed batter said after losing to Gujarat in Qualifier-2, “We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I saw him play 2-3 games for Surrey. That was disappointing because we would have loved to have had him here with us.” After Curran’s withdrawal, the Rajasthan Royals had included Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka as a replacement in the team. However, he could not perform exceptionally well. Said – Strict rules are necessary for players’ availability Sangakkara said that strict rules regarding player availability are necessary. BCCI’s current policy is in the right direction. He said, “I think a proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. BCCI has a strict policy on that. Every person goes through injuries. And if it’s a serious injury, a season-ending injury, of course, we understand.” “And that’s the way it should continue, be very strict to make sure that contractual obligations are all met properly and genuinely. And I think every side in the IPL will benefit from that”, he added. Mohit Burman, co-owner of Punjab Kings, has also said that BCCI and foreign boards need to better coordinate on player availability so that the team’s balance is not significantly affected. Board imposes 2-year IPL ban if a player withdraws after the auction BCCI has already made a rule under which if a foreign player withdraws his name from the IPL after being bought in the auction, he is banned for two years. The availability of foreign players in the IPL has been a topic of discussion for a long time. In such a situation, Sangakkara’s statement has once again brought this debate to the forefront.