IPL 2020: Sam Curran 'can't wait' to play under MS Dhoni but coronavirus uncertainty looms

England cricketers Tom Curran, left, and brother Sam, both hope to play in the IPL this year. AFP

England all-rounder Sam Curran says he "can't wait" to play under India great MS Dhoni, although whether the Indian Premier League takes place this year is another matter.

Curran, 21, was the most expensive England player in November's initial IPL auction, being sold to the Chennai Super Kings, captained by Dhoni, for £590,000 (Dh2.7 million) after a succesful 2019 stint with the Kings XI Punjab.

His older brother, Tom, also of Surrey and England, was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

However, with the start date for this year's tournament - initially set for late March - no clearer following India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extension of the nationwide lockdown of over 1.3 billion people until May 3, the Currans and the rest of the cricket world are left in limbo.

"It [the IPL] might happen this year, it might be cancelled, but we have to follow the government guidelines," Sam Curran told reporters in a conference call alongside Tom on Tuesday.

Chennai are one of the IPL's most successful teams, having won the tournament three times before a dramatic one-run loss to Mumbai Indians in last year's final.

Sam spoke of his excitement at moving to "a great franchise with all the big names", and that he "can't wait to play under MS Dhoni" at Chennai.

"Dhoni exudes calm," added Sam, who said only Virat Kohli, Dhoni's successor as India captain, could rival him in terms of superstar status in cricket crazy India.

"Chennai is quite an older squad so there are quite a few legends who have made it in the game," said Sam.

"Hopefully they will be looking to give tips to the younger players, so that's something I'm really looking forward to."

Sam had been preparing for a "massive" three-month stint in Asia after being selected for England's tour of Sri Lanka, which was abandoned before the start of the Test series.

Tom insisted, however, the lack of cricket was "nothing in the grand scheme of things" even though it was a "shock to the system".

The lockdown has seen several England players involved in charity initiatives, with Sam having raised nearly £10,000 for Britain's National Health Service, although he downplayed his efforts by saying "the smallest thing we can do is raise some money for the NHS".

As for the chance of potentially coming up against his brother in the IPL, Sam added: "Hopefully I will play against Tom, hit him everywhere and then hit his stumps."