Tom Curran, the England all-rounder, said that he opted against playing the Indian Premier League, and chose Australia’s Big Bash League instead, as it offered him the “best option” in terms of World Cup preparation.
Curran, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders last year, said that he decided to not enter the auction this time, after his experience of playing there in 2018. After a relentless grind during the 2017-18 season, featuring the Ashes in Australia, followed by the limited-overs series and a full tour of New Zealand, Curran landed in India for the IPL “mentally not as fresh as I would have liked”. Then, with a side strain, he missed the home series against India that followed the IPL, which prompted him to rethink if he wanted to return for the 2019 season.
“In the IPL, it just hit me a little bit as I probably was mentally not as fresh as I would have liked, and I think it was just a long period of cricket where I needed a break after having played without one for so long,” he told The Telegraph. “So, I sat down and thought, what is the best possible build-up to this World Cup for me in terms of getting my game back to where I needed it to be?
“I went there [Australia] and played regular cricket as they only have two overseas players, so you are guaranteed to play, with a nice run of games,” he added, highlighting the contrast with the IPL, where a larger number of overseas players means there is no guarantee of playing regularly.