England all-rounder Sam Curran said he really enjoyed playing different roles for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), hoping his stint with CSK in IPL will help him in the upcoming five-match T20I series in India.
Curran played all 14 games for CSK in the IPL 2020 and was a key player for the franchise, scoring 186 and taking 13 wickets at an average of 26.46 in the UAE last year.
He also hopes to make it to England’s playing XI for the opening T20I of the five-match series against India starting Friday, March 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, as he is keen to bring the things he learned with CSK in the IPL 2020 into the English setup.
The all-rounder also admitted that he came back from the IPL 2020 a much better player and he is looking forward to playing in the world’s best T20 competition and it will be a perfect platform to prepare for the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in India later this year.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council has recently announced the schedule for the forthcoming 14th edition of the IPL 2021, which will begin in Chennai from April 9 with the playoffs and the final will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 30.
The IPL 14 will be held in India across six venues – Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru as all IPL 14 matches will be played at neutral venues this year.
Curran said in a virtual press conference, “I definitely felt I came back a much better player from the IPL last year in [the UAE]. I did various roles and got challenged in different ways, which I really enjoyed. I think it's benefitted my game.
It's a fantastic tournament, we players love playing in it, great crowds, India's an amazing place to play cricket and it's the best T20 competition around so it's great to play in it, especially with that T20 World Cup in India. It's going to be great preparation and great for us to keep developing in these conditions. I'm really looking forward to it.”
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The 22-year-old continued, “In IPL, you play against such quality international players and such quality oppositions. It's nothing better than game time and in games where you under pressure, chasing targets, you defend targets.
It's a great tournament you love winning. There are things I have learned in IPL that I will hopefully bring into the English setup but then again there are things in the English setup that I will bring into the IPL. They both complement each other.”
He signed off by saying, “It's great to be in the team if I do play on Friday, whatever role is given to me by coach and captain I will try and do my best. That's what I pride myself on. I feel like I can adjust to different situations.
So wherever I bat or ball and things like that, I will be going out there and show different skills of my game. Hopefully, I am in the team on Friday and it will be a great opportunity for me to cement my spot for the T20Is.”
(With ANI Inputs)
