The missing piece in the West Indian jigsaw?

Sunil Narine must be a tired man. A two-month long tournament followed by an open bus ride in a city that celebrates its heroes like none other must have been a lot for the 24-year-old West Indian to take. Yet, today, he will be upbeat and quite restless if I may say. After a few outstanding performances in the IPL, the youngster is perhaps step onto the field for the most important aspect of his career yet- his Test debut.

It was only a few months ago when this youngster, already having impressed for West Indies in the ODI format against Australia, chose to play in the IPL while his countrymen traveled to England to face the world No.1 side in their own backyard. The absence of a central contract with the WICB gave Narine the option to either make himself available for selections for the England tour or play for KKR in the IPL. He chose the latter.

A lot of ‘experts’ showed their discontent over such a move and highlighted how the BCCI’s money-making-stint is distracting youngsters and defeating the purpose of their ambition to represent their country at the highest level. To be fair, they are right to a major extent, but what transpired in the next two months for Narine wasn’t something anyone really expected; not even the experts.

So, Narine landed in the city of joy, hoping to take back some of it with him. After two months and a successful tournament, he has more than he probably had anticipated. Man of the tournament with 24 wickets in a single season, a five-wicket haul, the second best economy rate in the tournament are a few things that will surely be something he can boast of. In fact, a special column will include a few select world class batsmen (with a special mention to the delivery that clean bowled Sachin Tendulkar) who’ve failed to read this ‘mystery’ spinner throughout the tournament.

In spite of being born in the early 90s, I’ve always admired the West Indian side. Today, they are a shadow of the side they were a few decades ago. It’s disappointing to see a team that once had gems like Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall play so poorly while countries like South Africa, England and India, to name a few, have only improved with every passing year (Of course, we aren’t considering the year they were handed two back-to-back 4-0 drubbings).

In such a situation, to inject a talented youngster into the Test side has been the most exciting thing I’ve heard for a long time now. No, he is not going to change the fate of the team overnight and take them back to the glory days of the 70s, but there sure is a chance that he can inspire an underdog team to overcome the Goliath in England. For a team that hasn’t had a ‘specialist’ spinner for such a long time, Narine could be the missing link.

When the two teams meet tomorrow, Kemar Roach’s absence could hurt England more than it will hurt the visitors. Kemar has been absolutely devastating so far and has tormented the England top order and yet knowing England’s ability to play spin bowling, they would rather fancy facing some chin music from the speedster than have a 24-year-old youngster spin the ball both ways and make them dance to his tunes, before they eventually return to the pavilion.

I’m not guaranteeing that Narine will come out and run through the England batting line-up but I’ll secretly put a large chunk of my money on him to come out and continue from where he left off in the IPL. It’s not going to be easy for him to be able to be as effective in spells much much longer than just four overs. He will need the temperament to handle the pressure at the highest level of the game and also have the patience and the perseverance to wait for the batsmen to make mistakes. Here’s hoping he shines and brings a new dimension to this West Indian side.