The England team is currently facing India in a three-match ODI series, and after that, the side will be traveling to Pakistan to partake in the Champions Trophy 2025.
England was the first side to announce their squad for the Champions Trophy, and it missed out on the name of Sam Curran. At 26, Sam Curran has achieved feats that other cricketers may not be able to achieve in their whole life.
He was the Player of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup, has represented England in more than 100 games across all formats, has back-to-back The Hundred trophies, and enjoyed million-dollar IPL contracts as well.
But now he has been dropped from every format of the English side, and it has happened for the first time since his debut that he has not featured for England in any format of the game.
Nevertheless, Curran is upbeat about making a comeback to the side and told ESPNcricinfo that he will be “banging the door” for an international return.
“There were loads of different reasons I didn’t get picked,” Curran says. “More so the T20s, but I naturally felt I should have been in both teams. But they’ve obviously got their plans, and you can look at the way they’re lining up now… The 50-over side is going to be similar to the T20 line-up, and they wanted the same structure of the top six.”
Sam also revealed that at the time of omission, he got clarity from the newly appointed white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum, which he respects.
“He just said: ‘You’re not in right now, but go away, score runs, and take wickets.’ I respected it a lot: sometimes you just get the easy: ‘It’s not the end.’ But it was pretty clear what they wanted me to do.”
“I’m the type of guy that will go away, do well, and improve. It was just a case of them going with the top six they want and backing the five bowlers they’ve chosen. [McCullum] told me to keep banging the door down, and I feel like I’ve come here and done pretty well. I’m in a good headspace.”
The 26-year-old also reflected on England’s performance currently and said the side has been inconsistent ever since they won the World Cup in 2022. The side has met with difficulties in maintaining consistency.
“It feels quite a while ago,” he reflects on England’s win in Australia. “There were some tough times for the team [after that]. It’s just been inconsistency, being in and out a lot of the time. That was the big message from above: go away and show consistency. I feel like hopefully, I’ve done that and will keep doing that.”
Curran is currently participating in the ILT20 and representing Desert Vipers in the tournament. While he’s made a notable impact with the ball, claiming six wickets, his primary contribution has been with the bat. Batting in his favored No. 4 position, he’s emerged as the team’s second-highest run-scorer, playing a crucial role in three successful run chases where he remained unbeaten.
