Why doesn’t Sunil Narine overdo his celebrations after taking wickets? When he was young, Narine got a piece of advice from his father: “Be humble, for this game is a great leveller. If in the next match the same batsman blows you away to smithereens, how would you feel?”
It struck a chord with the spinner. Even when he plays his last match in competitive cricket, Narine is unlikely to change his routine, for the batter might come back as a commentator bearing the grudge.
Narine’s father Shahid was a big influence in his life and career. An unabashed Sunil Gavaskar admirer, Shahid named his son after the legendary Indian opener. And he always wanted his son to take his batting seriously.
“When he (Shahid) passed away, I made a pledge that I was going to try and do more with the bat because he always said that I can bat and he always wanted me to show that I can bat,” Narine told Kolkata Knight Raiders’ official website back in 2021. Circa 2025, and he is now the team’s designated opener. Last year, his opening partnership with Phil Salt had formed the base for KKR’s title triumph.
Narine’s exterior gives away very little. He can make the ball talk all right, but apparently a shy and unassuming person, there was a bit of doubt about how he would fare, when captaincy came to him in a virtual win-or-bust game against Delhi Capitals. Ajinkya Rahane had left the field after suffering a hand injury, and KKR had already subbed out their vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer. Faf du Plessis and Axar Patel were in the middle of an excellent partnership that was threatening to take the game away from the defending IPL champions.
Some inspirational captaincy ensued, and Narine led from the front. He bowled the 14th over and turned the game on its head. An off-cutter got the better of Axar. Four balls later, Tristan Stubbs was done in by a beauty. The master tweaker would then dismiss Du Plessis, but alongside his match-winning 3/29 from four overs, his handling of the bowlers also stood out. Keeping an over for Varun Chakravarthy at the death was a tactical masterstroke.
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The KKR camp never had any doubt over Narine’s captaincy skills. “The perception that Narine speaks in monosyllables and is not a good communicator is completely wrong,” said a KKR insider. “Off the field and away from the camera, he is a completely different person. He communicates very well with his teammates. He is the best dancer in the team, someone who is good at partying.”
Narine has captained Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in ILT20. The four-foreigner rule in the IPL is a reason why KKR haven’t considered him for captaincy. A bona fide KKR legend, who has 208 wickets (190 in the IPL) for the franchise, he remains a leader who speaks his mind.
Sample this: Cricket West Indies was ready to take him back to the national team fold but asked the 36-year-old to appear for a Yo-Yo test. The Trinidadian gave it the short shrift.
Pooran to lead Trinbago Knight Riders
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Nicholas Pooran is going to be the new Trinbago Knight Riders captain in the Caribbean Premier League, taking over the reins from Kieron Pollard. The wicketkeeper-batter plays for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
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