England all-rounder Sam Curran has expressed his willingness to step into the Test team vacancy created by Ben Stokes' sudden retirement from red-ball cricket.
The 28-year-old spoke on July 3, 2026, ahead of the upcoming August series against Pakistan.
Stokes' departure at Trent Bridge has left England searching for a seam-bowling all-rounder to maintain team balance.
Curran has experience in that international pedigree role despite playing his last of 24 Tests in 2021.
Curran is currently participating in the T20 series against India. He recently made a first-class return for Surrey following a groin injury.
Curran Acknowledges the Challenge
“Stokesy’s going to be a big gap to fill for whoever takes that role but, yeah, I love playing for England,” Curran said.
He emphasized his competitive nature while acknowledging the external discussions regarding the vacant position. “There’s obviously going to be a lot of noise on whoever takes that spot.
I don’t want to put pressure on myself, (but) I’m a competitive person – whatever challenge is thrown at me, I’ll try my best,” he added.
Curran stated that his immediate focus remains on the current bilateral matches rather than long-term speculation. “So whatever format that is, I’ll do my best whenever I can.
We’ve got a big series here, so I’m focused on that and then we’ll see what happens later on.
I’m feeling good. It’s a long summer ahead,” he said.
When questioned about potential white-ball captaincy opportunities at Surrey or within the national setup, Curran dismissed the immediate connection.
“(Captaincy) is something I’ve enjoyed doing at Surrey and around the different franchises I have, but what’s this link?
Is this trying to just find a different headline or something?” he said.
He described the continuous external hypotheses surrounding leadership and selection choices as unhelpful. “Everyone’s speculating, speculating.
I think it’s pointless in a way. Let’s just try and crack on with this series and see how we go,” Curran said.
Focus on Performance
In a separate discussion with BBC Sport, Curran reiterated his desire to represent the national side without adding internal expectations.
“Yeah, of course,” he said.
He noted that selection decisions remain with the management while he focuses entirely on his performances.
“But it's one of those things where I just want to try to perform my best and whenever the time comes they decide whoever is going to replace Stokesy - playing for England is amazing and I'm a competitive guy,” Curran said.
Curran concluded by affirming his baseline approach to his responsibilities on the field.
“When I've got a ball or bat in my hand I just try to do my best, so we'll see what happens,” he said.
Addressing the broader public reaction to Stokes leaving the setup, Curran acknowledged the media interest. “It's something you have to always deal with,” he said.
He voiced confidence that the incoming player would establish their own presence. “There's no doubt, with Ben Stokes retiring there will be hype around it,” Curran said.
Curran emphasized that the collective goal remains team success during this transitional period.
“At the same time, I'm sure whoever comes in will do their best and try to get the focus on them, rather than on Ben.
There's no doubt he will be a big miss for England, and we'll see how it goes,” he said.
He finalized his thoughts by stating his desire to simply help the squad win matches.
“There is a lot of noise on Stokesy retiring, but I don't really want to put too much pressure on myself.
Whatever happens over the next few weeks, my main thing is to try to contribute and win games for England, and what will be, will be,” Curran said.
