The incredible form of Sunil Narine in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has once again rubber-stamped his credentials as one of the finest players to play the T20 format.
He mesmerised the crowd at the Eden Gardens and the fans watching from home with a scintillating knock, scoring his first-ever century in T20s.
Narine scored 109 runs off just 56 balls to completely decimate the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bowling lineup on Tuesday, April 16. What was really surprising about his innings was that he didn’t show mercy to any bowler.
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in sight, Narine’s performances with both bat and ball are surely going to make people wonder about his participation at the biennial event.
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Having last played a T20I for West Indies in 2019, he was overlooked for the 2021 T20 World Cup squad despite impressive performances across different T20 leagues in 2021.
In November 2023, he announced his retirement from international cricket.
“I appreciate it has been over four years since I last played for West Indies but today I am announcing my retirement from international cricket,” Narine wrote on Instagram.
“Publicly I am a man of few words but privately there are a few people who have given me unwavering support throughout my career and helped me realise my dream of representing West Indies and to you I express my deepest gratitude.”
Unless Narine makes a U-turn on his retirement, it seems unlikely that he will represent West Indies at the upcoming World Cup.
However, the 35-year-old seems to be really enjoying his cricket, and the motivation of playing in front of the home crowd at the T20 World Cup could yet change his mind.
West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell is also keen on having the all-rounder in the side for the upcoming World Cup.
“For the last 12 months, I’ve been whispering in his (Narine’s) ears, but he’s blocked out everyone,” Powell, who is playing for Rajasthan Royals this IPL said on Tuesday.
“I’ve asked [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Nicholas] Pooran. Hopefully, before they select the team, they can crack his code.”
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Parshva is a Content Producer for The Sporting News’ India edition.
