Sunil Narine rejoins Kolkata Knight Riders squad ahead of Mumbai Indians clash

After an emphatic win over Delhi Daredevils in their tournament opener, Kolkata Knight Riders gets another big booster ahead of their second match. West Indian spinner Sunil Narine is all set to join the team before they take on Mumbai Indians on 13 April.

The off spinner's bowling action was previously banned by ICC but his remodeled action was recently cleared. Though he was allowed to play he missed the first match because of a family emergency.

Narine will rejoin KKR squad

The 27-year-old had rushed back home after the sudden demise of his father but is will be back with the team soon. A KKR team official said, "Narine is arriving tomorrow morning,"

In his absence veteran Australian spinner Brad Hogg replaced him in the first match and impressed everyone with his bowling. He picked up three important wickets in his side’s comfortable nine-wicket victory over Delhi Daredevils.

The 45-year-old made good use of the chance and bowled with a lot of control in a sluggish Eden Garden wicket. The chinaman bowler also gave away only 19 runs in his four overs as his team restricted the opposition for 98 runs. KKR chased down the total with nine wickets and 35 balls remaining.

Hogg frightened of his place in the team

However, it will be very interesting to see the starting XI of the team when the mystery spinner arrives. During a promotional event, Hogg admitted that he was frightened of his place in the team as the Trinidadian might replace him.

He said, "I was a bit scared before the match because if and when Narine comes my chances to play would be less. So I tried my level best,"

Narine has been the most successful of all the KKR bowlers in IPL history. He has picked up 74 wickets in 55 matches for the Kolkata-based franchise with an average and strike-rate of 17.77. He was also an instrumental part of the team when KKR won the title in 2012 and 2014.

Only time can tell if he will be effective with his remodeled action like before or not. But from KKR's point of view, his return will add a lot of positivity in the squad.