England have announced that Sam Curran will miss the ICC T20 World Cup due to a back injury and will be replaced in their 15-man squad by his brother Tom Curran; Surrey’s left-arm closer Reece Topley is added to travel bookings for the tournament that begins October 17.
England off-roader Sam Curran has been ruled out of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup in the United Arab Emirates due to a lower back injury.
In a statement, the Cricket Board of England and Wales (ECB) announced that the 23-year-old complained of back pain after the Chennai Super Kings match against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and a subsequent scan revealed the injury. .
Curran will return from the UAE in the next few days for more scans and a “full review” later in the week with the ECB medical team with his place on the England T20 World Cup squad occupied by his brother Tom. .
Tom Curran has been a regular on Eoin Morgan’s T20 squad for the past several years, but after struggling for form in recent months, he missed the pick when the 15-man preliminary squad was announced.
The seam bowling all-rounder was named among three touring reserves for the tournament and his spot in that group will be taken by left-arm fast bowler Reece Topley, a teammate of the Curran brothers in Surrey.
England’s non-IPL players and management arrived at their Muscat base early Tuesday and will remain in Oman until October 16 before moving to Dubai for the start of the tournament.
Other than Curran, Morgan’s team does not feature Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes as they aim to become the first team to win the 50 and T20 World Cup crowns simultaneously.
Their tournament kicks off on October 23 with a repeat of the 2016 final when they face the West Indies in Dubai and will also face Australia, South Africa and two qualifiers in the group stage.
England team in full: Eoin Morgan (Middlesex, Captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Tymal Mills (Sussex), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
Travel reservations: Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire)
Watch the Twenty20 World Cup live on Sky Sports starting October 17.
