A year after pulling out of BBL mid-way, England & Sydney Sixers all-rounder Tom Curran is happy to be back in Australia
BBL 2021-22: Sydney Sixers' Tom Curran speaks about pulling out of the tournament last year and why he's happy to be back to Australia for the ongoing edition.
It is a well-known fact by now that bio-bubbles can be detrimental to a sportsperson's mental and physical health. Staying inside a confined space for a long period of time can also have an adverse effect on the athlete's game and if there is someone who can relate to bio-bubble fatigue quite strongly, it is England and Sydney Sixers cricketer Tom Curran.
All-rounder Curran, who is currently plying his trade in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia with the Sydney-based franchise, had to pull out of the tournament in 2020 after spending 6 months inside a bio-bubble.
A year later, he's back in Australia at a time when the restrictions have eased to some extent. When the Hindustan Times posed a question on what's different now and how he's holding up, in a press call organized by Sony for selected media, he explained how stringent the rules were last year.
"For starters, it is different to how it was last year. Our bubble in England last year involved literally staying at the ground. We were moving between the Old Trafford Stadium which looks out onto the ground and the Southampton Ageas Bowl hotel which also looks out onto the ground. That's literally months of opening up your curtains in the morning and watching the grass being cut and the wickets being rolled. That's the sort of bubble I am talking about; that was terrible. After months of that, it got real hard, and that sort of led to me pulling out last year," elaborated Curran.
Curran, by his own admission, is happy to be back in Australia is evidently enjoying his cricket. In the Sixers' second game of the season against Hobart Hurricanes, the 26-year-old bagged 3/27 in his 4 overs and played a handy cameo of 27 off 21 balls. When talking about the current bio-bubble, he explained:
"This year, it is similar to how it was in the summer for us in England; you're living safer living environment and it's the same for BBL. It's not a hard bubble where you're locked in the hotel. The world is in a different place at the minute and we've got a bit more freedom than the actual strict bubble. We're all adapting fine. It's not ideal. It's just great to be back here in Australia, playing in the BBL and playing cricket again. It's a lot better than it was last year."
Tom, brother of fellow England international Sam Curran, is an experienced campaigner in the T20s. He's played around 155 T20g games across leagues and has scored 1,145 runs and bagged 182 wickets.
Watch the LIVE coverage of The Big Bash League 2021 on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 1 (English) channels from December 5, 2021 to January 28, 2022. Watch Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars LIVE on SONY SIX (English) channels on December 15, 2021 at 1:45 pm IST.)