“It was a small ground and even a slightly mishit pull off Curran carried for six into one of the hospitality tents that ringed the ground. The bowler spat out an epithet. By then my confidence had been so pepped up I challenged Curran to come on a try to bounce me again.” — Kapil Dev
India’s legendary all-rounder and former captain Kapil Dev was in his element in his autobiography Cricket, My Style, back in 1987, while describing his famous knock of 175 not out against Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup.
That knock with India in trouble at 17 for five, changed not just the complexion of that game, but the sport of cricket in general. India went on to win that World Cup, cricket as a sport grew in stature in the country and it has never looked back again. Cricket today is an Indian sport played with support from the fans of this country and, of course, the moolah from one of the oldest civilisations in the world.
So, in a way India and the sport of cricket has a lot to thank Zimbabwe, especially their then all-rounder Kevin Curran, who spurred Kapil on during his blitzkrieg with his motormouth. Sadly, Curran is no longer around to accept the good wishes as he passed away at the age of 53 while exercising in 2012.
But we can certainly pass on the congratulations to Kevin’s son, Sam, for not just the role that his father played in Kapil's and Indian cricket’s renaissance, but also for playing a stellar role in the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2012 for his adopted home, England. Sam was named both the player of the final and the tournament for his outstanding bowling performances.
Life has not always been all fun and frolic for this 24-year-old, though.
It has been a tragic story for Sam and his elder brothers who all took up the sport that their father so dearly loved playing. Kevin played 11 ODIs for Zimbabwe, and was quite in demand in the English county circuit as a medium-paced all-rounder. He played for Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire. Kevin also featured in the 1983 and 1987 World Cups.
But when Kevin died in 2012, Sam was just 12 and unsure of the life ahead without the guiding light of his father.
"It has been pretty tough," said Curran back in 2018. "I was still young when it did happen, but I've got a very strong family — both my brothers (Tom and Ben), we're all very close, and my mum's very supportive of all our cricket. I think it made us stronger as a family and me stronger as a person," he added.
The eldest brother of Sam, Tom also plays for England and is also an all-rounder. The other brother Ben followed the footsteps of his father in making his debut for English county side, Northamptonshire.
The move to England after their father’s death happened by chance in 2012 when Tom was head-hunted by the Surrey County Cricket Club. The Surrey side was being guided by former England captain Alec Stewart and he offered the brothers a chance to be at the London-based County. Both Tom and Sam started out for Surrey making an instant impact with their all-round abilities. Ben meanwhile had to move to Nottinghamshire to look for greener pastures.
Sam first came into focus during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. His all-round abilities meant that he picked up seven wickets at an average of 20.57 in six games. He also managed to score 201 runs at an average of 50.33. Just a year before this performance Sam and Tom had combined to destroy Northamptonshire with their bowling. Tom (7-35) and Sam (3-46) had together taken all 10 wickets in the innings at The Oval in 2015. They became the first pair of brothers to take all 10 wickets in an innings of a county match in nearly 65 years.
So slowly the Sam Curran story started gaining currency. Tom was the first off the blocks in playing Test and ODI cricket for England in 2017, so Sam remained hopeful about a call-up. Sam’s patience finally paid off as he was named to play Pakistan in Tests in 2018. Sam’s debut Test at Leeds in 2018 started off when he was 19 and during his maiden Test batting effort, he turned 20. He ended up making 20 in his debut Test on the day he turned 20!
But the real breakthrough for Sam came during the Test series against India later that season in 2018 when he seemed to hurt India on demand! Whenever during that five-Test series, India appeared to gain the upper hand, Sam would appear from nowhere and change the course of the game with either bat or ball.
He even won the Player of the Match in the first Test of that series at Birmingham and never looked back again in the series. During the first Test he picked up four for 74 and then scored a 63 ball 65 to star in England’s win. That set the tone for the rest of the series. But the man, no boy himself, admitted that he got inspiration from the then India captain Virat Kohli.
"To be honest, I was trying to learn a bit from Virat in the first innings, when he batted with the tail," Curran told PTI.
His then Test captain Joe Root went a step further in his praise for Sam. "Sam Curran has a great amount of skill; great having him in our side and a very exciting and promising cricketer. He just didn't seem to feel any sort of pressure with the bat and we just love having him in our side, quite like having two Ben Stokes in the side. He is only in his second Test and it is easy to get carried away, but a great prospect for us," Root told PTI.
By the end of that five-Test series, India and its legion of fans were tired of Sam whenever he turned up on the field with either bat or ball. He turned the games multiple times and snatched initiatives at crucial times. He ended with 11 wickets in four Tests and was the third highest run-getter for England in the series with 272 runs with two half-centuries.
No wonder then that he was the overwhelming favourite when it came to the nomination of the Player of the Series from the England side. England won the Test series 4-1 and left a proud India to lick its wounds.
The then India head coach Ravi Shastri lavished huge praise on Sam in the end.
“We must give credit where it is due. Virat and me were asked to pick the Man of the Series (for England) and we both picked Sam Curran. Look where Curran has scored, and, that is where he hurt us. More than England, it was Curran who hurt us,” Shastri told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
“In the first Test, England were 87 for 7 (in the second innings) at Edgbaston, he (Curran) got the runs. In the fourth Test, they were 86 for 6 (first innings) in Southampton, he got the runs. We were 50 for 0 (first innings) at Edgbaston, he got the wickets. So at crucial stages in this series, he chipped in with runs and wickets. That was the difference between the two sides,” added Shastri.
By now Sam was being spoken of in the same breath as the incomparable Ben Stokes and another great, former India captain MS Dhoni. During an ODI in India in 2021, then stand-in captain Jos Buttler compared Sam’s valiant knock of 95 at Pune in the final game to a knock played by Dhoni in the past.
“I’m sure there were shades of the way that he (MS Dhoni) would have liked to take the game down if he was in that situation. He’s a great person for Sam to have a conversation with when he meets up MS (in the IPL),” praised Buttler.
When he finally did turn up for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and met up with Dhoni, he became an instant hit for the franchise. But that meant increased workload, alongside a raging pandemic.
It was, therefore, natural that an injury would take its toll on his slender frame. During an IPL game against Rajasthan Royals while turning out for Chennai Super Kings, Sam complained of a back problem. Scans revealed that the injury was indeed serious and he had to miss the remainder of the IPL plus the T20 World Cup to be held later in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sam was by now the adopted son of Chennai and earned the nickname #KadaiKuttySingam!
He opted out of the mega auction earlier in 2022 as he was recovering from the injury and missed out on the full IPL season.
He finally made his international return during the ODI series against the Netherlands in June 2022. He then played the ODIs against South Africa and even earned a player of the match award to mark his complete return to international cricket.
“I've been non-stop since school so I enjoyed the break (during back injury). The message is always take your positive option,” he recalled the positives of being on an extended injury break.
He carried his form into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, his first-ever world event, and it played a huge part in England winning the tournament in the end. Having missed the tournament in 2021, Sam was keen to make a mark in the 2022 edition and he did.
He started the tournament with the only five wicket haul of this edition, his five for 10 in 3.4 overs against Afghanistan and then in the final picked three for 12 to break the back of Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Sam ended with 13 wickets. He was named both the player of the final and the player of the tournament in the end.
“To be honest, I am a little bit lost for words, it has been a great tournament. First time for me in a World Cup and we have won it.
“I wanted to be adaptable coming into the tournament. I haven’t bowled much at the death before and that is one area I want to keep improving. I want to improve my batting though it is tough to get to bat in this line-up,” said Sam in the end.
In the end it was old fashioned courage shown by Sam during the tournament which really helped him come to the fore during the tough situations. His uncle, Kenyon Ziehl, watching the T20 World Cup back in Zimbabwe saw shades of his cousin Kevin in Sam during the tournament.
“KC (Kevin) would have been unbelievably proud of Sam,” Ziehl, a current Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) administrator and a former rugby international, told SportsCast.
“KC always instilled a sense of grit and determination in his boys to achieve the highest levels of success, which I believe Sam has and is achieving in his cricketing career. He has produced some brilliant performances for England, but I think this T20 tournament, plus winning the final, has really topped any past achievements. As a family, we are incredibly proud of who he is and what he has achieved on the world stage. His dedication and passion, plus hard work, is paying off. It’s richly deserved.”
For Sam to prove that he is indeed the chip off the old block as his uncle claims he will have plenty of opportunities in the coming months. But here is a final reminder from his growing number of Indian fans.
Just do not forget Sam, your father had a big role in India becoming a cricketing powerhouse, take it easy next time you play against them, for old time’s sake!
Yours Sincerely,
An Indian fan
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