London, Jan 22 (IANS): England all-rounder Sam Curran said on Saturday that he will not enter the IPL 2022 auctions in order to focus on his rehabilitation from a lower back injury. In October 2021, Curran, who was turning out for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second half of IPL in the UAE, suffered a lower-back injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament as well as mens T20 World Cup and the Ashes.

"It was agreed that sadly I should not enter the IPL auction this year and to focus on my rehabilitation. I'm back in the ne's and feeling great so hope to be back soon, Wishing everyone all the best for the tournament. I look forward to starting the season with @surreycricket," wrote Curran on his Twitter account.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had said that time Curran was injured after Chennai's seven-wicket loss in the match against Rajasthan Royals at Abu Dhabi on October 2.

"Curran complained of back pain after Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League fixture on Saturday against Rajasthan Royals. Results of the scan revealed the injury. He will fly back to the UK in the next couple of days and will have further scans and a full review later this week from the ECB's medical team."

12 days ago, on January 10, Curran had posted a picture of himself on social media from the dressing room of his county side Surrey, indicating that he was getting back to playing cricket after three months due to a lower back injury.

In 32 IPL matches, Curran made 337 runs at an average of 22.47, including two half-centuries. With the ball, he picked 32 wickets at an average of 31.09 and an economy rate of 9.21, with a best of 4/11.

Apart from turning out for Chennai Super Kings in 2020 and 2021, Curran had represented Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in his maiden IPL season in 2019.