Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket and Head Coach of Rajasthan Royals, expressed frustration following his team’s elimination from IPL 2026 after their defeat to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. During the post-match press conference, Sangakkara addressed concerns over player unavailability, focusing on English all-rounder Sam Curran, who is captaining Surrey in the T20 Blast 2026 and has played three matches this season.

“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now. So that was disappointing! We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us,” Sangakkara stated.

Curran was involved in a notable pre-auction trade between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, where CSK acquired Sanju Samson, and RR received Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. However, Curran was ruled out of the tournament due to a groin injury.

On the issue of player availability, Sangakkara said, “I think a proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. BCCI has a strict policy on that. Every person goes through injuries. And if it’s a serious injury, a season-ending injury, of course, we understand. I mean, we’ve had quite a few injuries. We’ve also had players like Adam Milne, Shimron Hetmyer, quite a few who’ve come here, Not had much of a game. They’ve done the hard yards. And they’ve worked as hard as anyone else in this journey.”

He added, “So, I mean, it’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not. But I think the BCCI policy around it is very strict now. And that’s the way it should continue, be very strict to make sure that contractual obligations are all met properly and genuinely. And I think every side in the IPL will benefit from that.”

In the second qualifier, Gujarat Titans defeated Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets. After Rajasthan Royals posted 214 for 6 in 20 overs, featuring a 96-run innings by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a quick 38 not out by Donovan Ferreira, Gujarat Titans chased the target successfully. Skipper Shubman Gill scored 104 runs, while Sai Sudharsan contributed 58, together forming a 167-run partnership that secured a three-wicket victory.

This chase was the highest target achieved in IPL playoffs history, surpassing the previous highest chase of 204 by Punjab Kings against Mumbai Indians in last year’s Qualifier 2. It also marked Gujarat Titans’ highest IPL run-chase, exceeding their 204 run pursuit against Delhi Capitals in 2025.