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Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are struggling at the bottom half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with just one win from six games. They are missing their frontline bowler Deepak Chahar, who has been ruled out of the season due to injury. In the mega auction, they went for fast bowlers like Adam Milne, Dwaine Pretorius as Sam Curran had opted out of the 2022 season.
As CSK look for a major turnaround, Curran has expressed that he has learned a lot from IPL but made himself unavailable because he did not want to risk getting injured again.
“I was gutted not to go to the IPL. It was hard to take, but it was the sensible thing to do – to concentrate on playing for Surrey and getting back ready to play some red-ball cricket, which is something I haven’t done for a while with Surrey,” the 23-year-old told South London press before Surrey’s clash against Somerset on April 21 at Kennington Oval, London.
“I probably could have gone to the IPL, but the advice was for my back to heal properly. If I had gone and got injured I would have been angry at myself, and it would have been a question of rolling the dice,” the southpaw added.
Sam was a part of CSK’s IPL 2021-winning squad. However, he got injured midway and was ruled out for the remainder of season. He played nine games and picked up nine wickets. Also, the English all-rounder contributed with a 34-run cameo.
“But you learn so much from all the players there, guys who have played at that level for a long time. I certainly felt my game has improved from playing in the IPL.
“When you go down to breakfast, you’re chatting with all these super stars and you’re constantly learning how to play in sub-continent conditions. When you play against the best you’re always being challenged,” he added.
Sam is excited to be bowling again after injury for Surrey and does not want to overdo it and curb his over-aggressive nature on the field.
“Even though I’m feeling strong and I’m feeling good, it’s a question of not overdoing it because when I’m in the battle I’m often guilty of getting too aggressive and too competitive and I sometimes forget about my body,” he further added.
Like Curran, Ben Stokes also opted out of the mega franchise tournament. Also, Jason Roy and Alex Hales pulled out of the tournament citing bubble fatigue after getting roped in by Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively.
