Sam Curran angry as Brendon McCullum overlooks him as Ben Stokes' replacement in Tests

England allrounder Sam Curran has expressed his disappointment after he was ignored for the replacement of Ben Stokes for the Test team. Curran hoped to earn a Test recall after Stokes was ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka but the selectors ignored him for the red-ball format.

Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring injury during the Hundred tournament this year while playing for Northern Superchargers. Unfortunately, he was ruled out of the series between England and Sri Lanka, which comprised of three Tests.

Sam Curran, who himself is a capable allrounder was hoping that this was his chance to come back in Test cricket. But it did not happen as England preferred moving Chris Woakes up the order to counter Stokes' absence.

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Sam Curran expresses disappointment after being ignored

While speaking to talkSPORT, Sam Curran revealed that Ben Stokes' injury instilled a belief in him to make a Test comeback. He also revealed about speaking to ECB Director of Cricket Rob Key regarding his way back into the Test team.

"I'll be totally honest, when Stokesy got injured, I did probably think that was my way back into the Test team. A couple of weeks back, I had a meeting with Keysy [Rob Key, director of cricket] just to get a bit of understanding of where the group is, and how I see myself getting back into the Test side," Curran stated.

The 26-year-old allrounder added that he felt gutted on being ignored but admitted that the England team management, including the head coach Brendon McCullum, has handpicked some players who will be a part of the Test set-up in the upcoming year or so.

"Being a young player who experienced Test cricket so young, I feel like I had an advantage to know what it's about, to know what winning a Test match is, and the grind and the grit and attitude that you need … so I was a little bit gutted. Selection is selection, but I thought that was my way back into the side at the minute," Curran said.

"They've got their own structure at the minute, and they're picking the guys that fit that environment, and there's a big thing going on at the minute about extra pace and stuff like that. And I guess for 12 months' time, and the Ashes, these are the guys they want, so you can't question it until the plan comes to an end," he added.

Sam Curran's early years in Test cricket

Sam Curran made his mark in international cricket through Tests. The 2018 Test series between England and India was a breakthrough moment in Curran's international career.

In 4 Tests, he picked up 11 wickets at an average of 23.54. The left-hander was also impressive with the bat as he scored 272 runs at an average of 38.85 with two fifties.

Recently, England are trying to build a potent pace attack after the retirement of James Anderson. Gus Atkinson is seen as a potential new ball bowler along with Chris Woakes for the team with Olly Stone and Brydon Carse being the other options. Rookie left-arm seamer Josh Hull also made his Test debut against Sri Lanka.

Sam Curran's form in white-ball cricket

Sam Curran might not be in England's Test plans but he is already a part of white-ball plans. However, his recent white-ball form hasn't been great. In the T20 World Cup 2024, his disappointing form cost England as he got just 3 wickets at an average of 38.33.

He faced just 11 balls throughout the tournament and was subsequently dropped. Curran was the Player of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup and played a key role in England's title win.