Curran ruled out of IPL 2026; Starc, Hazlewood likely to sit out initial games

Ellis is also expected to miss the season due to a hamstring injury, while Ferguson is set to miss the early stages for Punjab Kings

ESPNcricinfo staff

Published: Mar 20, 2026, 7:38 AM (8 hrs ago)

The IPL 2026 is just about a week away and plenty of players are already suffering from injury concerns. Australia fast bowler Nathan Ellis is expected to be ruled out of IPL 2026 after he aggravated an old hamstring injury in the domestic One-Day Cup final on March 11.

England allrounder Sam Curran is also set to miss the season at his new franchise, Rajasthan Royals, with a suspected groin issue. Curran last played on March 5 in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where England lost to eventual champions India in the semi-final.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are, meanwhile, unlikely to be available for their teams' first few IPL 2026 games with Cricket Australia (CA) understood to be monitoring the workloads of their premier fast bowlers keeping in mind the busy cricket calendar ahead.

Australia allrounder Jack Edwards has also been ruled out of IPL 2026 after picking up a foot injury. He was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the auction.

In other news, New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson is set to miss the early stages of IPL 2026 for Punjab Kings (PBKS). Ferguson, a new dad, will prioritise spending time with his family before potentially linking up with PBKS for the latter half of the tournament and the Black Caps for the winter tours.

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