Groin injury puts Sam Curran’s IPL 2026 in dark, RR seek replacement

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have faced with a major setback ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as star all-rounder and new signing Sam Curran is set to miss the tournament after sustaining a groin injury. 

Curran was set to play his first season in Guwahati and Jaipur after he and Ravindra Jadeja were brought in as trades from Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in exchange of Sanju Samson. RR would have been the England all-rounder’s third IPL team after having represented CSK and Punjab Kings in the past. 

The 27-year-old, however, will now have to wait to make his debut for his new franchise after being ruled out of the tournament through his latest injury. The left-hander's last game was England’s T20 World Cup semi-final against India where they eventually lost by seven-runs. 

According to reports, RR are considering securing a replacement for the now-injured Curran. An official word should be expected very soon with the 2008 champions set to play their opening game against CSK in Guwahati in 11 days time. 

Curran was expected to be one of RR’s starting overseas players at the 2026 IPL based on current good form for England as well as in the franchise circuit, most notably for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 where he captained them to their maiden title whilst being named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

The England all-rounder was set to have a new life at RR after his underwhelming season in Chennai in 2025. He played just five times for CSK last time around and took a solitary wicket. 

Curran’s injury news comes on the day where both CSK and Kolkata Knights Riders (KKR) have received bad news regarding their overseas bowlers. The five-time champions have lost Australia’s Nathan Ellis through a hamstring injury while KKR could be without Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana who has not been granted a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from his cricketing board.