Sunil Narine remains a “formidable” force but Kolkata Knight Riders’ lack of success has put him under pressure, said former West Indies captain Daren Ganga, who feels a change in franchise could freshen up the struggling Caribbean mystery spinner.
With young spinners like Varun Chakravarthy (17 wickets in 11 matches) and Suyash Sharma (10 wickets in 8 matches) enjoying success this IPL, Narine has struggled with his remodelled bowling action getting him only seven wickets in 11 matches.
He has had major challenges with remodelling of his action. He had to do (it) on a continuous basis, he has been called and warned a few times. He had to step out of international cricket because of that scrutiny,” Ganga said during an interaction at the sidelines of a Cricviz event.
“But for me Sunil Narine is still a formidable force, maybe, him taking a shift in franchise might freshen him up and his impact, who knows?”
Ganga said Narine is a part of a three-pronged spin bowling attack and it is not necessary that each bowler would be impactful in all games.
The 34-year-old Narine, once at the forefront of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling attack, has played for the two-time IPL winners since IPL 2012.
Sunil Narine is operating in a KKR team where he’s got two additional spinners. That was never the case before. He operated primarily with (Varun) Chakravarthy. But now, he’s got to operate with Suyash Sharma (as well), which makes it a little bit different for him as a player,” said the cricketer-turned commentator.
Ganga defended Narine, saying “he’s been consistent with line and lengths” and Chakravarthy and Suyash have benefited from his presence.
“I’ve had the chance to speak with him. The lack of success that they’ve experienced as a team has put a lot more pressure on him as a bowler because defending smaller totals, he’s got to bowl in situations where conditions are very good for batting.
“We saw that Kolkata is one of the best batting venues in the IPL. So, he’s also playing in a side where he’s bowling amongst other spinners which are successful.
“If you take three spinners in a complement of five bowlers in a T20 innings someone is not going to perform in terms of taking wickets. His economy has been very similar to Chakravarthy and Sharma – they are beneficiaries while he is operating alongside them.”
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