'We were told Sam Curran has season-ending injury': Sangakkara exposes RR star after catching him playing for Surrey following IPL 2026 exit

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has raised questions regarding England all-rounder Sam Curran’s late withdrawal from IPL 2026. Speaking after his team's defeat to the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, Sangakkara expressed deep disappointment over the sudden exit, which forced the franchise to bring in Dasun Shanaka as a replacement. The coach urged the BCCI to continue enforcing strict rules to ensure overseas players fully honor their contractual commitments throughout the tournament.

Did Sam Curran lie about his injury to opt out of IPL 2026?

Curran originally pulled out of the IPL citing a season-ending groin injury. However, eyebrows were raised after the England all-rounder made a swift return to action, recently featuring in three T20 Blast matches for Surrey.

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Player availability has long been a major challenge for IPL franchises, frequently disrupting team balance. Beyond Curran's abrupt exit, this season also saw Australian stars Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins join their respective teams only in the latter half of the tournament due to various niggles.

We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury: Sangakkara

In light of these ongoing disruptions, Punjab Kings co-owner Mohit Burman has echoed the call for change, urging better coordination between the BCCI and foreign cricket boards to minimize player absences. While the BCCI already enforces a strict rule imposing a two-year ban on overseas players who withdraw after being bought at the auction, franchises are clearly pushing for even greater accountability.

“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two games or three games now, so that was disappointing. We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us, but I think having got Dasun Shanaka as a replacement when we were told early, everyone should be extremely proud of themselves," said Sangakkara.

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When asked whether the BCCI could adopt a stricter approach regarding player availability, Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara threw his full support behind the governing body. He firmly backed the board's existing framework, indicating that the current regulations are a solid foundation for holding players accountable to their commitments.

“A proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that. Every person goes through injuries, and if it’s a serious injury, (or) a season-ending injury, of course we understand. We’ve had quite a few injuries. We’ve also had players like Adam Milne, (Shimron) Hetmyer, quite a few who’ve come here, not had much of a game. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is another one," said the head coach.

“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 in this journey. It’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not," he concluded.