Former England batsman Graham Thorpe hailed all-rounder Sam Curran and stated that his ability to thrive under pressure situations has made him a vital cog in England’s white-ball plans.
The left-arm pacer has also shown his batting skills in the limited opportunities he has had for the English ODI team. Curran bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs during his magnificent spell of fast bowling during the 2nd ODI against England to ensure an unassailable 2-0 lead for the home team in the 3 match series.
Curran is already an established IPL cricketer plying his trade for the three-time champions Chennai Super Kings. He starred with the ball and bat during the 14th edition of the tournament which had to be suspended midway owing to COVID-19.
He is expected to return to UAE for the 2nd leg for the tournament and Graham Thorpe feels that the exposure of playing high class T20 cricket ahead of the T20 World Cup slated to be played in the same country will definitely help him immensely.
"I think it's helped him enormously," Thorpe said of the IPL. "Every environment Sam has gone into, he's shown that ability to compete and an ability to find a way of putting performances in. From that perspective, playing in the IPL has put him in high-pressured situations and pushed him.
"His hitting ability with the bat was always there. I think that's progressed to a really good level. He's bowling at important times in the IPL, so he's put under pressure and challenged. At 23, he's getting some really good experiences,” he further added.
Curran hasn’t played much cricket for England in the 2020 summer being a part of the XI on only three occasions which included a Test each against West Indies and Pakistan and one ODI against Australia. However, his all-round showing in the truncated 14th edition of the IPL again brought him to the reckoning and he is currently the first-choice pick in England’s white-ball set-up.
"When he comes back and plays with England, he's having to challenge for a place so he's being put under pressure there too," Thorpe said.
"That's not a bad thing. One of his great personality traits is that he's a real competitor. We have seen that ever since he was a young lad, and his skill level is going up. For a 23-year-old it's a good place to be. We want him to keep getting better and better,” the former batsman concluded.