TimesofIndia.com at Milanpur: Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals (RR) The director of cricket and head coach did not hold back and questioned on Friday. Sam CurranThe England all-rounder has been absent from the play-offs after being ruled out with a “season-ending” groin injury but has played three Vitality Blast matches for Surrey.The England all-rounder moved to RR from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last November in a trade that included Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja.“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him play two or three games now for Surrey, so it was disappointing,” he told reporters after RR’s exit from IPL 2026, a seven-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.“We would have liked him to play for us here, but we got Dasan Shanaka as a substitute after being notified earlier.”Curran has played three games for Surrey, scoring 141 runs, but the all-rounder is yet to bowl an over in the competition.Sangakkara also questioned Curran’s commitment, citing examples of several players who did not get much game time, but admitted that the unavailability of players was affecting the IPL.He said that a proper and strict policy around it is always necessary. BCCI has a strict policy on this. Every player goes through injuries, and if it’s a serious injury, a season-ending injury, of course we understand.“We’ve had a lot of injuries. We’ve also had players like Adam Milne and Hetmyer, who have come in and not had a lot of games. Luan Dre-Pretorius is another one.“Kwenna Maphaka is another one. He’s come here. He’s done the hard yards. He’s practiced. He’s watered the team, and he’s really worked as hard as anybody to support the team on this journey. It’s really up to the individual player to decide if they want to come or not.“But I think the BCCI’s policy around this is very strict now, and should continue to be, to ensure that contractual obligations are met in a true and genuine manner. I think it will benefit all parties in the IPL,” he added.In a conversation with BBC ahead of the start of IPL 2026, Karan said that he has been suffering from injuries since the 2026 T20 World Cup.“It’s an injury that I’ve been struggling with a bit. It’s been slowly getting worse. It was very disappointing to miss the IPL,” he had said.Karan was bought by CSK for IPL 2025 for Rs 2.4 crore, which he finished with 114 runs and just one wicket in five games. It will be interesting to see if the England all-rounder is retained by RR for the next season.
