IPL 2023: Sam Curran Couldn't Execute What He Needed To, Says Simon Doull

Simon Doull believes that Punjab Kings (PBKS) seamer Sam Curran failed to perform well under pressure during the team's IPL 2023 encounter against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

He said that the tactic used by the English all-rounder to deliver a slower ball ended up having a negative outcome.

With Kolkata requiring 26 off 12 balls, Curran conceded 20 runs as Russell smacked back-to-back maximums. After a dot ball, he went for another six and finished the over with a single, leaving 6 runs for the final over to win.

However, fighting over from pacer Arshdeep Singh created immense pressure and Russell was run out in the penultimate ball trying to sneak in a cheeky signal. With 2 needed off the final ball, Rinku Singh swiped the last ball wide of fine leg for a four to seal the thriller against Punjab Kings on Monday night.

"He (Sam Curran) was the Player of the World Cup. He gets those yorkers right. He is under enormous pressure, I get that. And bowling to a big powerful player, you are under more pressure. But they were length balls. He bowled two length balls leg side, got picked off both times into the grandstand for half a dozen," Doull told Cricbuzz.

"He then went for the off-pace, but the off-pace was too slow and too wide off to the short side. He just got it wrong and couldn't execute what he needed to execute," he added.

The former New Zealand cricketer believes that Curran would not be recruited by a team as a true all-rounder. He stressed that Curran's main responsibility for Punjab was to perform well with the ball, but he has not been successful in doing so thus far.

"He is now going at over 10 an over for the season. Predominantly, they bought him as a bowler who can bat. You are not buying Sam Curran as the genuine all-rounder.

"Okay, he will give us an innings or two, but we are buying you as a bowler, at the death in particular, because you have been so good, and you will get us a few runs with the bat. But he hasn't been able to do it this year just yet," Doull added.

Curran became the costliest cricketer ever to be bought by any franchise of IPL in its 15-year history. He was roped in by PBKS for a whopping INR 18.5 crore.

Also Read: IPL 2023 Points Table

However, the English cricketer hasn't been able to justify the price tag as he has picked just seven wickets from 11 games and has an economy rate of 10.28. He has scored 195 runs in 10 innings with the bat.