Sunil Narine refuses to attend the batters’ meetings for KKR in IPL. Here is why
After finding success while opening the batting for Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunil Narine revealed that keeping things simple has been his approach. His lighthearted comments came in response to Shreyas Iyer’s disclosure on Wednesday that the West Indies mystery spinner skips the batters’ meetings. Narine’s resurgence as an opener this season has been instrumental to the Knight Riders’ strong start in IPL 2024.
Sunil Narine has won 14 Player of the Match awards in the IPL. This time, his fiery innings helped KKR put 272 on the scoreboard, the second-highest total in tournament history. Narine blasted 7 sixes and 7 boundaries en route to a career-best 85 off 39 balls. He sent the Delhi bowlers scrambling as he looked remarkably in controlled with the bat.
Narine aggressively attacked the fast bowlers, even smashing a bouncer from Ishant Sharma for six. He also dominated Axar Patel, DC’s only spinner, who bowled just one over on Wednesday in Vizag. Narine’s onslaught was not simply brute force as he selectively targeted bowlers and timed his big hits to perfection.
“Cricket is all about batting, so I am looking to contribute more as a batter. But I still enjoy bowling,” Narine commented.
“I know about my role, so the less I know, the finer it is for me,” Narine on the reason behind his refusal to attend batters’ meetings.
Narine’s rise in IPL 2024
Narine’s batting skills had declined over the last three IPL seasons, failing to reach 100 runs in any edition. However, he has been sensational opening the batting this year, justifying KKR’s faith in him. With former captain Gautam Gambhir, who first used Narine as a pinch-hitting opener, now mentoring the team, the ‘Gambhir effect’ is visible.
Earlier, Narine hit a quick 45 against RCB in Bengaluru when KKR chased down 182 within 17 overs. He has scored 134 runs in 3 matches at an impressive strike rate of 204 in the 17th season of the tournament.
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