There cannot be many sportspeople who enjoyed a better end to 2022 than Sam Curran. The English cricketer is a big Chelsea supporter and took in our game against Bournemouth to bring the curtain down on a year in which he truly announced himself as a world-class T20 all-rounder.

In England’s victorious World Cup campaign in that format, Curran was named the Player of the Tournament for a string of superb performances in Australia. He saved the best until last, too, named the Player of the Match in the final as England defeated Pakistan to lift the prestigious trophy for a second time.

That game was in mid-November. Scarcely a month later, Curran received the biggest contract in the history of the Indian Premier League, a fee of £1.9 million securing Punjab Kings his services for the second most valuable sports tournament on earth.

Curran was a guest of the club’s at the win over Bournemouth, where he was joined by his brothers Tom and Ben, also professional cricketers (pictured with Sam, top), as well as England batter Dom Sibley. Not surprisingly, we found him in great spirits.

‘It’s been a whirlwind few months and I’ve enjoyed it massively,’ he beamed.

‘Winning the World Cup was amazing. Looking back, it’s been six weeks now. To be able to say I won a World Cup and we won a World Cup is very cool. Incredibly special. Those are the dreams you have as a kid, to win a World Cup.

‘To be able to be back home with the family and reflecting on that has been incredible. We had been away for two-and-a-half months so it was great to get back and see everyone, and to be able to reflect and enjoy the Christmas period. Hopefully 2023 is similar!’

Curran’s April and May will be spent in India in the glitz and glamour of the IPL, a franchise T20 tournament where the per-game value is $15 million. The Premier League, for reference, is worth $11.2 million per game. In last week’s draft, Curran was the biggest winner, becoming the most expensive auction buy in the competition’s history.

‘I was very overwhelmed with how it all turned out, but it’s incredibly special going back to Punjab, where it first started for me in 2019,’ he says.

‘Then I went to CSK for a couple of seasons, but to be back where it started is amazing. I’m incredibly excited. We have got Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow, two English lads, there as well, so that will be nice and make it a bit more familiar. Last time it was quite unfamiliar territory.

‘The IPL in India is an incredible place to play cricket,’ adds the 24-year-old, looking out over the Stamford Bridge pitch from high in the West Stand.

‘Watching Chelsea play here is probably similar to cricket in India in terms of the support and the passion for the sport.’

Curran does his best to follow Chelsea from wherever he is in the world, although with much of his great recent work taking place in the subcontinent, time zones have been an issue this season.

Still, he is game for a challenge. What type of cricketers would members of the current Chelsea squad be if they tried their hand at the sport first played in this country in the 16th century?

‘Mason Mount is one of my favourite players,’ Curran begins.

‘He’s an opening batsman I reckon, very attacking up top, goes really hard and has a bit of flair about him. Similar to someone like Rishabh Pant.

‘Reece James I love. He’s a solid middle-order batter. You can bank on him coming in and getting runs, coming in for the last few overs and hitting some boundaries.

‘Raheem Sterling would be your mystery spinner who everyone fears. He’s such a quality player who has a reputation for having done it for so long, but still people can’t stop.

‘Kepa would be a solid banker behind the stumps,’ continues Curran.

‘I need to pick a bowler! Conor Gallagher would be right arm medium, your day in day out man, chugging away. Thiago is your experienced head you can rely on, your Jimmy Anderson. Maybe not quite as skilful as Jimmy!’

Thankfully for us, Thiago Silva’s sporting education was on the beaches of Copacabana and not in the cricket nets of Burnley, so Curran could sit back and enjoy another virtuoso display from the defender as Chelsea beat Bournemouth. Right now, he is sprinkling the taste of victory wherever he goes.