NEW DELHI: England all-rounder Sam Curran expressed his frustration at not being picked for the Tests comeback and at being passed over for the Pakistan Test following the injury to captain Ben Stokes, stating he was a little disappointed at being passed over.
Despite making his Test debut against Pakistan in Leeds in 2018, Curran hasn’t appeared in any of the 30 games that McCullum has coached the England team.His last Test appearance came against India in August 2021.
“The way the teams are being set up now, guys are getting picked for certain skills and a bit out of the unknown. As a county player, it’s an interesting one, because you’ve got to hope that you fit that mould right now. And if you don’t, you’ve just got to crack on and win games for your franchise and your counties, and just hope that that call comes,” Curran told TalkSPORT as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
England chose to bat at No. 6 and No. 7 in the Sri Lanka Test with Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes, bypassing Curran. Curran believed he had a chance for a Test recall when Stokes tore his hamstring during the Hundred in early August, missing England’s 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka and the country’s first Test against Pakistan, which is presently taking place in Multan. However, once again, the allrounder was overlooked.
“I’ll be totally honest, when Stokesy got injured, I did probably think that was my way back into the Test team. A couple of weeks back, I had a meeting with Keysy [Rob Key, director of cricket] just to get a bit of understanding of where the group is, and how I see myself getting back into the Test side.
“Being a young player who experienced Test cricket so young, I feel like I had an advantage to know what it’s about, to know what winning a Test match is, and the grind and the grit and attitude that you need … so I was a little bit gutted. Selection is selection, but I thought that was my way back into the side at the minute,” Curran said.
“They’ve got their own structure at the minute, and they’re picking the guys that fit that environment, and there’s a big thing going on at the minute about extra pace and stuff like that. And I guess for 12 months’ time, and the Ashes, these are the guys they want, so you can’t question it until the plan comes to an end,” he added.
