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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine has lit up the Indian Premier League (IPL) for 10 years now. The spinner has won two IPL trophies with KKR and will create more history when he takes the field for the 150th time for his team (in the IPL and Champions League) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday (April 18).
Ahead of the match, Narine revealed said that in all his years in the IPL, he has not come across a better player who could play his spin bowling than Indian legend Virender Sehwag. “I will probably have to say Virender Sehwag. I always found it tough because he was a guy who always kept the game going no matter what situation the team was in, he kept batting the way he did, ” Narine said in an interview with the official KKR website.
The talented West Indian spinner has emerged as the most economical bowler this season (5.00) even though KKR are currently placed sixth in the points table after three wins and the same number of losses. He has also conceded the second-fewest boundaries in comparison to any bowler who has bowled a minimum of 15 overs in IPL 2022.
When asked about how he manages to slow down the hard-hitters in a tournament full of talented batters, the 33-year-old said, “It’s basically if I bowl a bad ball and get hit for a six, obviously I have to bowl a better ball. If I bowl a good ball and the batter hits it for a six, I don’t try to read too much into it. I try to bowl maybe the same ball because batters don’t quite the same shot consistently, they try something else. I try to keep it as simple as possible.”
Not many players have touched 10 years with the same team, yet even after a successful spell with KKR, he wishes to play for the same franchise in the future as well,
“Yeah I have always told Venky (Mysore, KKR CEO) that hopefully, I don’t play for any other franchise, I have loved my stay at KKR so hopefully I start and finish here. I think it’s a great achievement. You don’t see many overseas players stay with one franchise. Luckily, I am one of them and hopefully, I can continue to be with them in the future,” Narine reiterated.
With 147 IPL wickets under his belt, Narine needs just three more wickets to move up to sixth in the all-time IPL wicket-takers list, and the Windies star will be hoping to complete the record this season itself.
