Sharjah: All-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup with a lower back injury, which he sustained during the IPL, the England & Wales Cricket Board said on Tuesday.
“Extremely gutted. Absolutely loved my time with Chennai this season,” he was quoted as saying. “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.”
“Curran complained of back pain after Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League fixture on Saturday against Rajasthan Royals. Results of the scan revealed the injury,” the ECB stated.
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.
Curran's brother, Tom, has been drafted into England's squad for the World Cup. In addition, Surrey's left-arm seamer Reece Topley has been added as a travelling reserve. Topley will join the England party in due course.
The 23-year-old Curran had a forgettable IPL with only 56 runs from nine games and nine wickets at an expensive economy rate of 9.93. He has so far played 24 Tests, 11 ODIs and 16 T20Is.
The England players and support staff arrived at their Muscat base earlier on Tuesday and will remain in Oman until October 16 before moving to Dubai for the start of the tournament.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), 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
56: Runs that Curran has scored in nine games this IPL season
9.93: His economy rate this season
9: Number of wickets he has taken in as many games
How dearly will England miss them?
Ben Stokes
Jofra Archer
Sam Curran
