Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has expressed surprise over Sam Curran's return to competitive cricket after the England all-rounder pulled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to injury concerns. Curran was expected to play a major role for Rajasthan Royals this season following his move from Chennai Super Kings in a high-profile trade that also involved star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. However, he withdrew the tournament after the T20 World Cup, citing a groin injury.

Following Curran's unavailability, Rajasthan signed Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as his replacement. Now, Curran's recent appearance for Surrey in the ongoing T20 Blast has led Sangakkara to question the circumstances surrounding his IPL exit.

"We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury. But I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now. So that was disappointing. We would have loved to have had him here playing for us. But I think having Dasun Shanaka as a replacement when we were told early," Sangakkara said at the press conference.

So far, Curran has appeared in three games for Surrey in the Blast, remaining their top run-scorer with 141 runs. Meanwhile, Sangakkara asserted that in such cases stern policies are always indispensable. Notably, the BCCI has a strict policy of a two-year ban on players pulling out of the IPL after being picked in the auction.

"Yeah, I think a proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that. Injuries, every person goes through injuries, and if it's a serious injury, a season-ending injury, of course we understand," Sangakkara said.

“We’ve had quite a few injuries. We’ve also had players like Adam Milne and Hetmyer, who’ve come here and not had much of a game. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is another one. Kwenna Maphaka is another one. They’ve been here. They’ve done the hard yards. They’ve practiced. They’ve carried water for the team, and they’ve really worked as hard as anyone else to support the team on this journey. It’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not," he said.