After being tried out as an opener for the Melbourne Renegades under Aaron Finch’s captaincy, the mystery spinner was given the same responsibility in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. Opening the innings alongside Gautam Gambhir in the 2017 edition, Narine found instant success and even smashed the then fastest joint-fifty in IPL history.
Stating that skipper Gambhir gave him full liberty at the top of the order, Narine said in the most recent edition of the Cricket Monthly:
Even after Gambhir’s departure, Narine continued to open the innings with Chris Lynn for the franchise.
The Trinidad-born player exploited the powerplay with his clean bat swing and helped KKR attain a healthy start in several games. However, his aversion to short-pitched deliveries meant that the bowlers began to target the left-handed batter, pushing him down the order once again.
“It’s a trend I’ve set for myself: every team I play for now, I bat in a different role” - Sunil Narine
Narine was primarily deployed down the order in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was used in a similar capacity by Surrey in the recently concluded T20 Vitality Blast as well.
Whereas, he played at the No.3 position for the Oval Invincibles in the inaugural edition of the Hundred. Sharing his thoughts on being used as a floater in T20 cricket at times, he said:
His peak with the bat came in the 2017-18 window, where he amassed 581 runs across two editions for KKR at a strike rate of 180. What do you reckon is Narine’s best position in the batting order? Let us know what you think.
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