'I'm gutted not to be there': England star 'frustrated' to watch IPL 2022 on TV; says he 'definitely' wants to return

A number of English players are missing the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League. Ahead of the start of the season, Alex Hales and Jason Roy had withdrawn from the tournament; in addition, Ben Stokes and Sam Curran hadn't registered for the tournament as well. Young bowler Curran, who had represented the Chennai Super Kings over the past three years, had stated that he wanted to continue his rehabilitation process following an injury and was forced to miss IPL 2022.

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“It was agreed that sadly I should not enter the IPL auction this year and to focus on my rehabilitation. I’m back in the nets and feeling great so hope to be back soon, Wishing everyone all the best for the tournament. I look forward to starting the season with @surreycricket,” Curran had written on his official Twitter account.

As he continues to recover from the back injury, Curran opened up on missing the IPL again, saying he is gutted to miss the IPL this season but feels his decision to opt-out of the auction was the right one.

"I'm gutted not to be there. It's a frustration watching from home," Curran, who played for Chennai Super Kings, told ESPNcricinfo.

“I wanted to go (into the auction) but I didn't at the end – which was probably the best decision. Looking back, IPL probably came a little bit too soon.”

The 23-year-old, who bowls left-arm medium pace, had sustained a stress fracture on his lower back during the second leg of IPL in October last year.

“I definitely want to go back (to the IPL) at some stage because you learn so much about your T20 game there: it's a tournament when you live and breathe cricket. You go down for breakfast every day and you're sitting with superstars, sitting down and chatting about the game," said Curran.