West Indies mystery spinner Sunil Narine is set to join the Kolkata Knight Riders squad on Tuesday ahead of the game against the Mumbai Indians. The addition of Narine to the squad will definitely bolster the KKR bowling line-up which already looked quite formidable in the game against Delhi Daredevils.
Narine missed that game because of his father’s demise for which he had to leave for his motherland early this month.
Narine had a tumultuous last few months in his career as he was banned from the international cricket for his action. KKR, however, stayed firm by their spinner’s side as he was trying to make a comeback to the cricketing field.
Narine was banned after he was once again no-balled by the umpires for a suspect action in the One-day International between the West Indies and Sri Lanka in Pallekele last November.
Also read: Bowling action of Sunil Narine found to be legal
Supported Narine to the hilt
The franchise, owned by Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, supported Narine to the hilt as a dejected Narine was uncertain about his future then. Narine has been a star performer for the franchise and he was instrumental in guiding them to their maiden IPL title in 2012.
He with his miserly spells and deceptive variations helped KKR outclass their opponents time and time again. He won the IPL with KKR once again in 2014 where his performances were exemplary again. He has been the mainstay of KKR’s bowling since he has joined the side.
KKR repaid the services of their soldier at a time when he was devastated and left with no options whatsoever. The franchise got eminent bio-mechanist Carl Crowe to help Narine correct his action and stage a comeback for them. Carl, himself an off-spinner in his playing days gleefully helped the mystery spinner from Trinidad.
"I flew to Trinidad with all my equipment. It wasn't just going to be an action-correction exercise. It was a test of getting things done in a manner where the bowler's confidence had to be restored as much as the skill. It wasn't about the arm and the action. It was about his body, his mind, and his cricket," Carl told TOI from the UK.
The franchise also showed a token of gratitude toward their spinner by deciding to pay for all his expenses. Carl added, “I worked with Narine for close to three weeks. The idea was to make him feel comfortable,"
The ploy really worked well for the talented off-spinner as he appeared for a retest at the ICC-approved centre Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai on March 28 where his action was found to be legal and he was cleared to play.
It seems that all’s well that ends well. The gesture shown by KKR towards it player is definitely praiseworthy.
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