3 franchises who could target Sam Curran at the IPL 2022 Auction

Sam Curran made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in 2019 when the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) roped him in for ₹7.20 crore. The England all-rounder played nine matches and came into the limelight after a hat-trick and a half-century that season.

Curran was then snatched by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹5.5 crore during the IPL 2020 Auction. He was a rare shining light in an otherwise ordinary season for the franchise.

The Surrey all-rounder did not feature in the second leg of (IPL) 2021 due to a lower back injury. Curran also missed out on the T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.

Sam Curran has all the makings to be a valuable T20 asset to any side. The left-arm seamer can deliver with the new ball and is excellent with his yorkers as well. In 32 IPL matches, Curran has scored 337 runs with an exceptional strike rate of 149.77 and has also scalped 32 wickets.

Considering that franchisees have shelled out a good amount of money for the 23-year old in the IPL auctions before, it would be no surprise to see Curran be in high demand at the upcoming auction as well.

On that note, we take a look at the three sides who could sign Sam Curran at the IPL 2022 Auction.

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#3 Lucknow/Ahmedabad (One of the new IPL franchises)

Sam Curran is perhaps one of the best young all-rounders in world cricket at the moment. The 23-year old offers something in all departments in the shortest format of the game and could be the ideal marquee signing for a new franchise.

With quality overseas all-rounders like Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard not part of the auction, Sam Curran could be the foreign star player around whom the new franchises could build a team.

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#2 Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai Indians are the most successful franchise in IPL history. The five-time champions have often opted to go with two lethal seamers in their attack, with a third pacer who could also contribute with the hand. It's the kind of role Nathan Coulter-Nile often played for them.

With Mumbai also letting go of their key all-rounders in Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, Sam Curran is a no-brainer and the closest like-to-like replacement they could find to fit into their recipe for success.

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#1 Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) know how to utilize the services of their players better than most franchises. When they signed Sam Curran in 2020, he was one of their rare shining lights in a season where they failed to make it to the playoffs.

Now, with the likes of Dwayne Bravo also moving out, CSK will be eager to rope in Sam Curran once again. While they did not retain him ahead of the auction and will not have the right-to-match card, CSK will be looking to buy the England all-rounder back at the IPL 2022 Auction.