Table of Contents
The England National Cricket Team all-rounder Sam Curran is set to miss the forthcoming ILT20. Curran will miss Season 5 of the DP World International League T20 in order to focus on a Test comeback after the retirement of the former England captain Ben Stokes a few months back. Curran was reported to make a comeback in the third Test against Pakistan.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Men’s Selector, Marcus North, previously stated that Sam Curran is in the interest of making a comeback to the longest format of the game given that Stokes retired. He is nearly a like-for-like replacement for the former English captain. Though the comeback to the Test squad is not finalised yet.
Sam Curran ready for Test comeback
Sam Curran is now set to miss the ILT20, as he eyes a return to the England Test setup after nearly five years. He made his debut at the age of 19 back in 2018 and played 24 Test matches till 2021. But after that, due to different injuries and reasons, he was out of the Test squad.
Curran has been working on his workload as he has often been injured, which has ruled him out of some key franchise leagues. He did not feature in the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 following his groin injury; after that, he played in the T20 Blast as a specialist batter to work on his fitness and missed some games of The Hundred as well.
The 28-year-old all-rounder played the five-match T20I series against India and also the three-match ODI series against the Men in Blue and bowled brilliantly in the two white-ball series for the Three Lions.
"He's looking just to manage his workload"- Tom Moody on Sam Curran missing ILT20
The Desert Vipers Director of Cricket, Tom Moody, has made comments on Sam Curran skipping the ILT20 to prioritise English cricket. Moody said that the all-rounder had a huge workload as he has yet again started playing for the Three Lions; it is a good sign for him.
“Sam had decided that he wanted a break this year during that window,” Tom Moody, the Vipers director of cricket, said. “He’s obviously got a huge workload of cricket on his plate. He is also starting to play more for England again.
“He had a period of time where he was out of the England white-ball setup. There has been talk around him being reintroduced into the Test side as well, so I think he's looking just to manage his workload.
“I don't think it's the end of his association with us in the future, but certainly this year he's decided to step away.”
Tom Moody happy after Dan Lawrence’s comeback
Apart from speaking about Curran, Moody also shared insights on Dan Lawrence’s comeback in the Test squad. The Director of Cricket for the Vipers is thrilled that the latter has been called back into the squad and might also feature in the first game in the middle order.
“First and foremost, we're absolutely thrilled that he's found himself back in England colours,” Moody said.
“He had a brief taste of it a couple of years ago in a different role at the top of the order, which is probably not where you would see him long-term as a Test cricketer.
“Certainly, in the middle order, he's someone that you'd see have a long and very effective future.”
