The availability of Kolkata Knight Rider’s (KKR) mystery spinner Sunil Narine still remains a matter of speculation before the start of IPL 9. The Kolkata-based franchise will start their campaign on 10 April against Delhi Daredevils (DD) at Eden Gardens but they haven’t had an official verdict on the Caribbean spinner yet.
Sunil Narine’s action cleared ahead of IPL 9
West Indian off-spinner Sunil Narine’s bowling action had been cleared by the ICC just a few days before the start of this year’s IPL. His remodeled bowling action has been found to be legal after serving a ban for almost a year.
The 27-year-old cricketer was banned from international cricket by ICC after his bowling action was found to be illegal during West Indies’s series against Sri Lanka last year. In the third match of that series, it was proved that all variations of his deliveries exceeded the 15-degree limit.
He had previously spent a year out of the national side working on his bowling action. But after only three games into his comeback, he was pulled up again. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) initially named him in the squad for the recently concluded World T20 2016 but he withdrew himself to work on his action.
Narine has been a very important of KKR’s team in the past picking up 74 wickets in 55 IPL matches at an average of 17.77 and with an economy rate of 6. He was an instrumental in KRR’s to title winning campaigns in 2012 and in 2014.
Narine will miss KKR’s opener against DD
On the other hand, KKR CEO Venky Mysore said that the Trinidadian has got the clearance but will miss the first match of the season due to his father’s sudden demise. He said, “Narine can straightaway resume bowling in matches once he returns. However, he might be unavailable in the first game as he has gone home following his father’s sudden demise.”
Mysore also clarified that the whole team is behind its best spinner at this tragic time and said that there is no pressure on him from their side. He said, “There’s no pressure. When he feels he is ready to play cricket, he will come to us,”
KKR coach Jacques Kallis said on the matter before his action was cleared, "Unfortunately, he lost a family member, his dad passed away, so he has gone back. "Unfortunately, he lost a family member, his dad passed away, so he has gone back."
It is hoped that the magic of Narine can be seen again from some stage onwards in this year’s IPL, but it is assured that he will miss the first, if not more, games.
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