New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals (RR) have suffered a setback ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, with England’s all-rounder Sam Curran likely to miss the tournament due to a suspected groin injury.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, Curran, 27, last featured for England in the Men’s T20 World Cup on March 5, when the defending champions were beaten by eventual winners India in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

But he is now expected to miss IPL 2026 due to the groin injury for RR, the inaugural IPL champions. Curran was set to make his debut for RR after joining the franchise in November 2025 through a trade with Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Curran and India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were swapped to RR in exchange for wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who went on to be named Player of the Tournament at the Men’s T20 World Cup and will now turn out for CSK when the competition begins on March 28.

On the other hand, five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have suffered a big blow with pacer Nathan Ellis set to be ruled out of the competition after being unable to recover in time from a hamstring injury, the franchise’s CEO KS Viswanathan told reporters at an event in Chennai.

Meanwhile, New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is set to miss the initial stage of the tournament with the Punjab Kings (PBKS) due to his prioritising spending time with his family. His Beau was born during the T20 World Cup, for which Ferguson took a short paternity leave before coming back for the business end of the competition.

“Just had a wee son, trying to spend as much time as I can at home and help the wife out. I’ll have a few weeks off after this, before sort of heading to the later stages of the IPL and away for the winter.

“Always a pleasure playing for the Black Caps, really enjoyed my time in India with the group again, and unfortunately, the injuries played out earlier in the season. Really wanted to play some home cricket and feel just privileged to be able to play in front of the home crowd.”

“Cricket, in general, is on the up, which is amazing. Sometimes the hard part is selecting when to take a rest. So, picking this time, which I think is pretty fair, considering the wife was looking after the baby when I was in the World Cup. So, no, really looking forward to some time at home and then back into some cricket after that,” he told reporters ahead of the third T20I against South Africa at Eden Park in Auckland.

–IANS

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