Curran ‘can’t wait’ to play under Dhoni amid virus threat
England all-rounder Sam Curran said Tuesday he still hoped to play under India great MS Dhoni in the Indian Premier League - and get one over older brother Tom - despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Curran, 21, was the priciest England player in November’s initial IPL auction, for sale to the Chennai Super Kings, captained by Dhoni, for o590,000 ($742,000) after a succesful 2019 stint with the Kings XI Punjab.
Meanwhile the 25-year-old Tom, also of Surrey and England, was signed by the Rajasthan Royals.
However the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in the suspension of most major cricket worldwide.
This year’s IPL was meant to get started on on March 29 before being delayed until Wednesday to coincide with the end of a short Indian government lockdown.
But with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing Tuesday an extension of the lockdown - the world’s biggest covering over 1.3 billion people - until May 3, there is absolutely no certainty about when, or indeed if, the 2020 IPL will take place.
“No-one knows,” Sam Curran told reporters in a conference call with Tom on Tuesday.
“It (the IPL) might happen this season, it could be cancelled, but we must follow the government guidelines.”
Chennai are among the IPL’s most successful teams, having won the tournament 3 x before a dramatic one-run loss to Mumbai Indians in last year’s final.
- ‘Chennai legends’ -
“I was very excited to go franchises,” said Sam. “Chennai is an excellent franchise with all the current big names and I can’t wait to play under MS Dhoni.
“Hopefully I'll play against Tom, hit him everywhere and hit his stumps.
“Dhoni exudes calm,” added Sam, who said only Virat Kohli, Dhoni’s successor as India captain, could rival him regarding superstar status in cricket crazy India.
“Chennai is quite an older squad so there are quite a few legends who have managed to get in the overall game,” said Sam.
“Hopefully they'll be looking to give tips to younger players, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to.”
Sam had been finding your way through a “massive” three-month stint in Asia after being selected for England’s tour of Sri Lanka, which was abandoned before the start of Test series.
Tom insisted, however, having less cricket was “nothing in the grand scheme of things” even though it was a “shock to the system”.
Sam added: “Nevertheless, you have to appreciate enough time off is quite refreshing.
“Hopefully I’m not just one of the players who has let themselves go and comes back for the county season 10 kg too big.”
- ‘Dream ambition’ -
The lockdown has seen several England players involved in charity initiatives, with Sam having raised practically o10,000 for Britain’s National Health Service, although he downplayed his efforts by saying “the tiniest thing we can do is raise some money for the NHS”.
The Currans live separately in one another and Tom, asked if he was missing seeing Sam, replied: “Nah, nice break. Only joking, of course I’m missing the person.”
When cricket resumes the brothers, the sons of the late Zimbabwe all-rounder Kevin Curran, desire to fulfil a “dream” by following their Surrey predecessors Adam and Ben Hollioake as siblings playing Test cricket in the same England side.
Sam has played 17 Tests to Tom’s two.
Right-arm seamer Tom said: “It could be amazing to play Tests with Sam, that’s definitely an enormous ambition of ours.”
Sam added: “As Tom said, it’s a dream.
“Any game you play for England is actually an excellent privilege but I believe using your brother or a member of your loved ones gives it that extra special feeling.”
