‘He stays up at night and sleeps in the day’ – Wasim Akram reveals Sunil Narine and Andre Russell’s bizarre schedule during IPL

Sunil Narine. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Wasim Akram, THE former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bowling coach, revealed a story about Sunil Narine during his stint with the franchise. The former cricketer disclosed that Narine and Andre Russell adhere to the West Indies time zone rather than adjusting to the Indian time zone, which is almost a 12-hour difference. 

Akram recalled the time when he was having breakfast with Narine, who arrived with swollen eyes and revealed that he hadn’t slept at night. Interestingly, both Narine and Russell follow a routine of sleeping during the day and staying awake throughout the night during the IPL. Given this, the cricketer-turned-commentator humorously remarked that their outstanding performance in the league could be attributed to this weird practice.

“When I was a part of KKR, I would wake up early for breakfast. Sunil Narine came for breakfast with swollen eyes. I asked him, ‘Hey mate! What’s happening?’ I tried for a West Indies accent, but it did not come out that way. It sounded like British or Aussie accent (laughs)” Akram said while speaking on Sportskeeda Cricket’s Match Ki Baat.

“So, yeah, I asked him why he looked tired. He said I haven’t slept. I said what do you mean I haven’t slept. He said I am on West Indies time. I asked him to explain. Sunil said he stays up at night and sleeps in the day. Even Andre Russell, I think he does the same thing. These guys sleep in the day during IPL and stay up whole night,” he said.

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Sunil Narine does not even talk to anyone: Wasim Akram

Akram further spoke about Narine‘s evolution from a specialist bowler to a hard-hitting all-rounder in the IPL. He attributed the Windies star’s batting prowess to the belief shown by the KKR team management. 

“People would consider Sunil Narine as a specialist bowler, but he is among the top run-getters right now in IPL, which is the top league. I believe the management, the coach and even Gautam would have given him a lot of confidence,” Akram said.

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The 57-year-old further mentioned Narine maintains a quiet demeanor off the field despite being a destructive all-rounder. “He is a quiet person, at times too much quiet, like he does not even talk to anyone. That’s what Sunil Narine is,” he concluded.