MUMBAI: Not long ago, all-rounder Sam Curran was not in the scheme of things for England. Curran, the player of the tournament in England's 2022 T20 World Cup-winning campaign, was left out for the white-ball tour of India and the subsequent Champions Trophy. With England under Brendon McCullum packing their squad with a battery of right-arm quicks, it seemed Curran the all-rounder didn't have a chance with speeds in the region of 82-84mph.
The pace bowling all-rounder reportedly even had a talk with the coach who told him, "You're not in right now, but go away, score runs and take wickets." Respecting the coach's words, Curran decided to hone his skills in T20 leagues across the globe and score runs in bulk and pick a bucketful of wickets to stake his claim for a spot in the national side. The call-up eventually came in September and it gave Curran a new lease of life and yet another opportunity to prove his mettle.
And by the time England just managed to win their T20 World Cup opener against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, spotlight was again on Curran as he thwarted their bid of causing a big upset with a well-calculated over even as bowlers around him were being thrashed left, right and centre.
Ahead of the World Cup, Curran played his part both with bat and ball, be it the South Africa series, the Ireland series or the Sri Lanka series. However, it seems he reserved his best for England's opener. With Jofra Archer giving away 22 runs in the 18th over and Luke Wood going for 14, Curran was handed the ball by skipper Harry Brook.
Nepal, with the in-form Lokesh Bam still at the crease, needed 10 runs from the last over to register an upset win over England. Curran mixed his deliveries well, bowling low full tosses and yorkers with a packed leg-side field as Nepal fell short by five runs. Curran eventually finished with figures of 4-0-27-1.
Brook admitted that Curran won them the game. "I don't think Sam bowled until a lot later on than usual. He knew exactly what he was going to do, and executed outstandingly," Brook said.
Will Jacks, England's all-rounder who was adjudged player of the match for his unbeaten 39 of just 18 balls and 1/17 from his two overs, was queried about Curran after the match and the ups and downs he has been through since being the MVP of the 2002 edition. He also sang from the same hymn sheet.
"He is very class in those pressure situations. He's able to think very clearly. He's got a very good understanding of the game, which he's shown, obviously, like you say, Player of the Tournament and man of the match in the World Cup final. He was absolutely brilliant there and today he's won us that game. It was ebbs and flows the whole way. I thought at times in the chase, we were ahead, they were ahead, and then thought it was almost lost with 10 balls to go. And so we're obviously very pleased to come out on the right side," he told journalists.