Player Batting Status

Player Bowling Status

Biography

With his spiky hair-style, small yet lethal Sunil Narine, first caught eye when he bagged all ten wickets in a trial match and immediately earned a call-up to the Trinidad & Tobago squad in 2009. The right-arm off-spinner had also represented the West Indies U-19 team and made his first class debut against Leeward Islands. Although, he was unimpressive in regional cricket, he was included in the squad for the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 in India in 2009.

During the Caribbean T20 in 2011, Narine played his first T20 match. Narine managed to take 5 wickets in the tournament at an average of 13.40. However, his bowling action came under the scanner in that series which prompted him to work with bio-mechanical experts at the University of Western Australia in Perth to change it. His improved bowling action was very effective in the Champions League 2011 as he bagged ten wickets at an average of 10.50 and an economy rate of 4.37. Later that year, he made his ODI debut against India in the third game of the series and picked up two crucial wickets to lead West Indies to a 16-run victory.

His consistent outstanding performances in limited overs cricket attracted the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise and he was bought for an impressive USD 700,000 in the 2012 IPL auction. He justified the inclusion and finished the season with a total of 24 wickets, being the second-highest wicket taker of the tournament. His contribution helped Kolkata secure their maiden IPL title and Narine was adjudged 'Player of the tournament' . The IPL was a huge learning experience for the youngster and it also fetched him his Test debut when he replaced an injured Kemar Roach for the third Test against England in June 2012. His performances in Test matches have been nothing spectacular so far.

Narine had another good IPL season in 2013 in which he picked up 22 wickets in 16 matches but due to Kolkata's poor performance in that edition, he could not move on further. Narine's a deceptive bowling technique, which has out-foxed many batsmen, remains his main strength. Although he has found a permanent spot in the ODI and T20 sides, Narine is still looking to make a mark in Test cricket.

His top-notch performances in the Indian T20 League, provoked the Kolkata franchise for the seventh season of the Indian T20 League.

Meanwhile, with the in-form Shane Shillingford reported for suspect action, Narine was belatedly added to the West Indies Test squad for their tour to New Zealand. He made an indelible mark, foxing the Kiwi batsmen with his bag of variations, which included the regular offie, the carrom ball, the dossra, the knuckle ball and the nifty straighter one. In the lone Test he played in that series, he scalped 6 wickets to command a longer run in the Test fold.

Though Narine managed just 6 victims in 5 encounters in the T20 Cup in Bangladesh, he made a significant impact with his parsimonious economy rate, which created wickets at the other end. With the emergence of Benn, Narine found himself out of the Test side, but was still the first option when it came to ODIs and T20Is. However, during the 2014 Champions League, Narine was reported for a suspect bowling action by the ICC and since then he has been working on it to get it right. The selectors though, believe that he would have corrected his action by then and selected him for the 2015 World Cup.

In IPL 2018, Sunil Narine had a standout season with the bat as he scored 357 runs at a scintillating strike rate of 189.89 where he also notched up a couple of super quick half centuries. Apart from his contribution with the bat, the mystery spinner also claimed 17 wickets and proved his mettle as an all-rounder. However, barring the 2018 season, Sunil Narine hasn't been able to contribute much with the bat as the bowlers have found his weakness against the short ball. He played a crucial role in KKR's victory in 2012 & 2014, but Narine hasn't been the lethal weapon he used to be once upon a time. The batters have managed to decode his mystery over the years, and he can't be considered a reliable batsman owing to his inconsistency.

by Cricbuzz staff