Rajasthan Royals faced a major setback on Thursday because Sam Curran will be unavailable for the entire IPL 2026 season. The England all-rounder who moved from Chennai Super Kings to Rajasthan Royals in November last year has picked up a groin injury according to ESPNCricinfo. Curran participated in a major trade between CSK and Rajasthan Royals which involved Ravindra Jadeja and Sanju Samson switching teams with the English player. The upcoming IPL 2026 will mark Currans third franchise engagement after his previous stints with Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings CSK. The Royals planned to use him as their middle-order batsman together with Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel and Shimron Hetmyer. The original plan has changed because the 27-year-old player will not be fit to play in IPL 2026. RR has not yet made any announcement about who will replace Curran. Curran played as England's primary fast-bowling all-rounder during the T20 World Cup 2026. He helped the England cricket team reach the semi-finals under Harry Brook’s captaincy, before they lost to the India cricket team in a high-scoring clash at Wankhede Stadium on March 3. Curran spoke confidently before the match but he failed to perform well during the game especially when he bowled. He delivered 53 runs during four overs while failing to secure any wickets. He scored 18 runs off 14 balls while trying to reach a target of 254. Read also: Sanju Samson is irreplaceable: Riyan Parag opens after rowing with Rajasthan Royals captaincy Curran experienced difficulties during his time in IPL 2025 because he played most of his matches under MS Dhoni. CSK acquired him for INR 2.4 crore but he failed to provide steady performance. In IPL 2025, Curran played five matches and scored only 114 runs. He took one wicket through his bowling while his bowling average reached 133 and his economy rate stood at 11.08. IPL 2026 was expected to be a comeback season for Curran with Rajasthan Royals. He was especially eager as RR’s opening match was against his former team, Chennai Super Kings. The all-rounder will not be able to play the entire season because his plans to play the season have failed to succeed.