Sam Curran admits he was desperate to learn from Virat Kohli when Indian maestro was due to play for Surrey
Surrey and England all-rounder had hoped to pick up some tips from the India captain
SAM CURRAN was expecting to spend a month looking and learning as a team-mate of the great Virat Kohli.
Instead, Curran and the rest of the England team must now try to keep the world’s most decorated batsman quiet.
Kohli’s scheduled stint with Surrey in June was cancelled because the Indian master was injured. Now, fully fit. Kohli plays for India in three Twenty20 matches - starting on Tuesday at Old Trafford - followed by three Royal London one-dayers and five Tests.
All-rounder Curran, 20, said: “I was very excited when Kohli was meant to be my team-mate at Surrey and I was expecting to be laughing at the other county bowlers!
“Now, if I get the chance, it’ll be me that he’s trying to take down! It’ll be fun. You want to play against these big names and test yourself, find out where you need to improve.
“All the Surrey boys were gutted he didn’t come because we were expecting some big crowds and watching the way he trains and learning from that. Apparently, he’s a freak in the gym, so it would have been special to work with him.
“It was the same playing with Kumar Sangakkara. He was a legend, scoring more than 20 hundreds for us in three years.
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“He was a great guy to be around, you’d never know what he’s achieved because he’s so down to earth and a great human being.”
In the past month, Curran has made his Test and one-day debuts for England and is emerging as a leader of the next generation.
He bowls left-arm swing and bats left-handed. Those in the know at Surrey think he will end up as a batsman who bowls, in the manner of Ben Stokes.
Curran added: “It’s been a pretty special couple of weeks. At the start of the summer, I’d have thought I’d just be doing my Surrey stuff. But that’s how things go - you ride the rollercaster and just try to enjoy it.
“There’s a lot more hype at international level, which is different, but hopefully I’ll play more games and understand the highs and lows.
“We’re lucky yo get big crowds at Surrey but the crowd at Headingley when I made my Test debut was different, walking out to Jerusalem and those other small things you dream of.
“I’ve been watching Jimmy and Broady for years and the next thing I know I’m stood at mid-on while they are steaming in. It’s pretty surreal. I won’t forget it.
“I grew up as a batter who bowls and, as I’ve got older, I’ve become a bowling all-rounder now. But I definitely I see myself at four, five or six, especially in one-day cricket. Maybe a bit like Stokesy does for England, I could see myself doing that at Surrey.”