Sunil Philip Narine is a Trinidadian cricketer who plays for the West Indies
in all forms of the game. Primarily an off-spin bowler, he is also a
left-handed batsman. Domestically, Narine has played for
Trinidad and Tobago since 2009 and made his One Day International debut in
December 2011, and Test debut in June 2012. Narine's participated in the 2012
Indian Premier League where he represented Kolkata Knight Riders and
was named Player of the Tournament in his first season with 24 wickets at a
miserly 5.47 runs per over. He also became the first player in IPL 2013 to
take a hat-trick on 16 April 2013 playing for Kolkata Knight Riders
against Kings XI Punjab at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. He is married to
Nandita Kumar. Early career
Sunil made his debut in first-class cricket for Trinidad and Tobago in
February 2009 during the Regional Four Day Competition, bowling thirteen overs
without taking a wicket. He did not play another first-class match until nearly a
year later, and after going wicketless in the first innings claimed a single
scalp in the second, that of tail-ender Lionel Baker.
On 19 January 2011, during the Caribbean Twenty20, Narine played his first
Twenty20 match but did not bowl as the match was rained off before Trinidad and
Tobago could bowl. T&T won the competition and Narine managed five
wickets at an average of 13.40. By virtue of winning the competition
Trinidad and Tobago qualified for the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 held in
September and October, in which Narine was one of three bowlers to take ten or
more wickets. He made his List A debut on 20 October 2011 in the Regional
Super50, claiming figures of one wicket for 35 runs; his wicket that of opening
batsman Miles Bascombe. Trinidad and Tobago won the competition and Narine
was the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 15 scalps, five more
than the nearest competitor, fellow spin bowler Nikita Miller.
International career When the West Indies toured India in
November and December 2011 Narine was included in the squad. He made his One
Day International debut in the third fixture on 6 December, taking the
wickets of Virat Kohli and then Ravichandran Ashwin to help the West
Indies to a 16-run victory. Playing in the final two matches Narine took one
more wicket while conceding a further 87 runs.
Back in the Caribbean, Narine played three of T&T's six matches in February
2012 in the Regional Four Day Competition, taking 31 wickets at an
average of 9.61, and finishing as the team's leading wicket-taker and seventh
overall. Australia arrived in the West Indies in March, and their tour began
with five ODIs. Narine and West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach each finished
with eleven wickets and were joined leading wicket takers in the series
which was drawn 2–2. Indian Premier League
The Kolkata Knight Riders bought Narine for US$700,000 at the player auction
held in January for the 2012 Indian Premier League; at the time he had
played just three ODIs and the successful bid was far above the base
price of US$50,000. The IPL clashed with the Test leg of Australia's tour of the
West Indies, and as Narine did not have a central contract with the West Indies
Cricket Board could chose whether to be available for the Tests or to play for
KKR. Though Narine could have been called into the Test side based on his
form in the ODIs, he chose to play in the IPL. KKR won the tournament As the
2012 IPL's second highest wicket-taker with 24 dismissals and the second-best
economy rate, Narine was named Player of the Tournament.
Best in the arena Following an injury to fast bowler Kemar
Roach, and the conclusion of the 2012 IPL, Narine was drafted into the West
Indies squad for the third and final Test against England in June 2012. At
the time he had played just six first-class matches, managing 34 wickets
at an average of 11.88. Replacing fellow off spinner Shane Shillingford in the
side, Narine made his Test debut on 10 June 2012. Due to his performance in the
IPL Narine was much hyped by the media, though Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell
negotiated him with ease. A superb performance by Narine of five
wickets for 28 runs on 16 July 2012 helped the West Indies beat New Zealand
by 20 runs in their fifth and last ODI and win the current series 4–1 at
Basseterre, St. Kits. Playing only in his second Test he was adjudged the Man
of the Match after he picked eight wickets which included his maiden
five-wicket haul. Narine was left out of first 2 tests vs New Zealand.
As on 8 March 2014 he topped the ICC Twenty20 rankings of bowlers with 784
points. Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan at second, was way behind in points at 714,
while Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka with 674 points completed the top three.
Bowling action Narine has the reputation of a "mystery
bowler", due to the variations that he has on his Off breaks, and how he
disguises them. Narine missed out on the 2014 Champions League due to being
suspended for an illegal action over 15 degrees. He didn't play the finals of
the 2014 Champions League for this reason.
In November 2015 Narine was suspended from bowling in international cricket,
after his bowling action was deemed to be illegal. His action was reported
during the third ODI game against Sri Lanka earlier in the same month. Former
West Indies fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts believes that Narine should consider
taking a hiatus from international cricket.
Awards and performances = Test 5 wicket hauls =
= ODI 5 wicket hauls = International Awards
= Test Cricket = Man of the match awards
In this table Ct., refers to the Catches and St. refers to the Stumping
= One-Day International Cricket = Man of the series awards
Man of the Match awards = Twenty20 International Cricket =
Man of the match awards References
External links ESPNcricinfo profile
Sunil Narine's profile page on Wisden Sunil Narine Profile and latest news at
Sportskeeda CricketArchive statistics
Sunil Narine profile page on cplt20