Sam hoping IPL won’t scupper his hopes
SAM Curran hopes his Indian Premier League commitments do not see him miss the start of England’s Test summer.
Curran has signed up for the Chennai Super Kings for a second successive year, but the 2021 IPL schedule puts him and the likes of Ben Stokes, Lancashire’s Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer at risk of missing the first Test of the summer.
The IPL play-offs take place from May 25-28 with the final set for May 30, while the start of England’s two-match series against New Zealand begins at Lord’s on June 2.
“Any time there’s England games in the summer you do want to play in them,” all-rounder Curran said.
“You’ll have to see how the IPL pans out. I guess if you miss the qualification then most likely you’ll be available for those Tests. If you’re in the final it might be a bit different.
“Those New Zealand Tests have come into the calendar recently and there’s a lot of Test cricket.
“We’ve got those games against India as well, which will be a fascinating series and hopefully played in front of home crowds.
“I’ve got good memories from the India series in 2018 and I’m really excited for the India team to come over. Fingers crossed, I’m in those squads and hopefully playing.
“Every player wants to play in all three formats for England, that’s my goal.”
Curran has returned to the England bubble for this month’s two white-ball series against India after missing the 3-1 Test series defeat to Virat Kohli’s side.