BBL 2023-24: Tom Curran Ruled Out Of The Remainder Of BBL Due To A Knee Injury
England all-rounder Tom Curran has been ruled out of the remainder of the Big Bash League (BBL) due to a knee injury. His appearance in the ILT20 league is in doubt now where he was supposed to play for Desert Vipers. He picked up the injury in the last game of Sydney Sixers which was against the Melbourne Stars on Saturday. Tom Curran will be missing the last two regular series games for Sydney Sixers where they will try to book their place in the finals.
Tom Curran would still have missed the finals of BBL because of his ILT20 commitments where he was supposed to play for Desert Vipers who start their campaign on January 21. He is also supposed to feature for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Tom Curran has travelled back to England where his injury will be assessed and he will start his rehabilitation and recovery.
“The full extent of the injury is currently not known with Curran set to return to the UK in the coming days and undergo further assessment at home,” a Sixers statement said. Tom Curran has only featured in four games for Sydney Sixers this season as he also missed four matches this season due to a ban imposed on him.
It Has Been A Controversial BBL For Tom Curran
It has been a controversial and disrupted tournament for Tom Curran who suffered a four-match ban for intimidating the fourth umpire Muhammad Qureshi while he continued practising his pre-match run-ups on the pitch in Launceston despite being warned by the umpire. He appealed the sanction but it was upheld. “I am genuinely sorry that I chose to continue to practice my run-up in the direction of Umpire Qureshi and if he ever thought I sought to make physical contact with him,” Curran said.
Tom Curran’s best performance of the season came against Hobart Hurricanes where he picked a figure of 3/19 and helped his team win the game. Apart from that game against the Hurricanes, he has not been able to perform at his best in the season. Hayden Kerr could be a potential replacement for Tom Curran depending on the balance the team goes with. The Sixers will have Steven Smith available for their Sydney derby on Friday. They will also lose batter James Vince, who will join the Gulf Ginats in the ILT20 ahead of the finals.
The BBL Final Series is just like IPL Playoffs as the top two teams face each other in the qualifiers and the winner advances to the finals. The third and fourth-placed teams then play the eliminator where the winner advances to the challenger round where they face the losing team of the Qualifier and then the winner of the challenger round faces the winner of the Qualifier in the finals of the tournament. Sydney Sixers are currently third on the points table behind the likes of the defending champions, Perth Scorchers, and the table toppers who are already qualified for the final series, Brisbane Heat.
