{"id":491905,"date":"2026-03-24T03:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T03:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/491905\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T03:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T03:32:19","slug":"psls-loss-rrs-gain-sangakkara-hails-shanaka-as-ideal-replacement-for-sam-curran-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/491905\/","title":{"rendered":"PSL&#8217;s loss, RR&#8217;s gain! Sangakkara hails Shanaka as &#8216;ideal replacement&#8217; for Sam Curran | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/sam-curran-and-dasun-shanaka.jpg\" alt=\"PSL's loss, RR's gain! Sangakkara hails Shanaka as 'ideal replacement' for Sam Curran\" title=\"Sam Curran and Dasun Shanaka (Agency Image)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Sam Curran and Dasun Shanaka (Agency Image) <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/rajasthan-royals\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rajasthan Royals<\/a> head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/kumar-sangakkara\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kumar Sangakkara<\/a> has expressed disappointment over the absence of <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/sam-curran\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sam Curran<\/a> from the IPL 2026 season, calling it a significant setback for the franchise. The England all-rounder has been ruled out due to a groin injury just days before the tournament begins.In response, the Royals have moved swiftly to bring in Dasun Shanaka as Curran\u2019s replacement, with the Sri Lankan T20I captain confirmed in an official announcement on Monday.  <\/p>\n<p> Watch<\/p>\n<p> IPL 2026 should be audition for the next India T20I captain Curran had arrived at Rajasthan Royals as part of a blockbuster pre-auction trade involving Chennai Super Kings. The deal saw CSK secure Sanju Samson, while the Royals acquired Curran alongside Ravindra Jadeja. However, his injury has now forced an early exit before he could make an impact this season.\u201cWe are disappointed to lose a player of Sam&#8217;s calibre so close to the start of the season,\u201d said Sangakkara, who serves as Director of Cricket and Head Coach at Rajasthan Royals.\u201cSam brings immense value with both bat and ball. However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side,\u201d he added.Shanaka arrives with considerable T20 experience and is expected to slot into the lower middle order, offering both finishing ability and all-round depth. He previously featured in the IPL during the 2023 season for Gujarat Titans, where he played three matches.Shanaka\u2019s move to RR makes him the second international player after Zimbabwe\u2019s Blessing Muzarabani to leave the Pakistan Super League for a stint in the Indian Premier League.Rajasthan Royals will open their IPL 2026 campaign against Chennai Super Kings on March 30 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Following that clash, they are scheduled to face Gujarat Titans on April 4, Mumbai Indians on April 7, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 10.<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/microsite_v2\/website-toisa,path-book_pass_2026.cms?utm_source=TOI&amp;utm_medium=Masthead_sports\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Banner Insert\" imgsize=\"23456\" resizemode=\"4\" title=\"\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdersrc=\"\" placeholdermsid=\"\" msid=\"\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/129493222.cms.jpeg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Curran and Dasun Shanaka (Agency Image) Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has expressed disappointment over the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[28021,1721,74216,61112,17774,6968,32190,6970,9316,105627,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-491905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-chennai-super-kings","tag-cricket","tag-dasun-shanaka","tag-gujarat-titans","tag-ipl-2026","tag-kumar-sangakkara","tag-mumbai-indians","tag-rajasthan-royals","tag-ravindra-jadeja","tag-sam-curran","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}