Sunil Narine. IPL Career, Records & Stats

Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

At the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2012 auction, Kolkata Knight Riders went hammer and tongs to rope in a young budding cricketer hailing from Trinidad & Tobago named, Sunil Narine. The franchise eventually signed him for a hefty sum of  USD 700000. Not much was known of the youngster and it raised questions about whether KKR’s big investment would bore fruit.

It has been 11 seasons since Narine made his IPL debut and the sorcery that he has shown on the cricket field has been second to none. The Arima-born has brought even the docile surfaces to life and ripped through batting line-ups. Further, he has dismantled top-quality bowling attacks with his flamboyant stroke play.

In his debut season, Narine bamboozled batters with his variations and wreaked havoc with the ball. He featured in 15 matches and picked up 24 wickets at an excellent economy of 5.47. His staggering tally of wickets was the second-most in the season and his bowling exploits were instrumental in KKR clinching their maiden IPL title.

The 2013 season saw Narine yet again leave the world in awe of his performances as he bagged 22 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of 5.46. He was sensational with the ball in the following season too and took 21 wickets in 16 matches at an economy of 6.35, which included two four-wicket hauls. The mystery spinner’s incredible showing with the ball in IPL 2014 was one of the reasons for the Kolkata franchise grabbing the silverware for the second time.

Narine carried on the good work for KKR and did a decent job with the ball in the coming seasons. Though the West Indies spinner was not at his wicket-taking best, he kept the opposition’s scoring rate under check. In the eighth edition of the cash-rich league, he played eight matches and picked seven wickets at an economy of 7.31. Then in the following season, Narine bagged 11 wickets in as many games at an economy of 7.09.

The Knight Riders were using Narine as a proper bowler till the ninth edition of the lucrative T20 tournament. However, given the West Indies cricketer had shown glimpses of his batting credentials in the T20 circuit,  the team management drafted him in the opening slot in IPL 2017. The move paid dividends as he took bowling attacks to the cleaners and provided Kolkata with crackling starts.

Narine featured in 16 games in the 2017 IPL edition and smashed 224 runs at a stunning strike rate of 172.30. However, he was a pale shadow of his classic self on the bowling front and could take only ten wickets at an economy of 6.98. But in the coming season, the flamboyant cricketer displayed his all-round brilliance, smashing 357 runs in 16 matches at a remarkable strike rate of 189.89 and bagging 17 wickets at an economy of 7.65.

Narine had an underwhelming season as per his stature in 2019 with both bat and ball as he could only take 10 wickets in 12 games at an economy of 7.82 and managed 143 runs with the bat. In the coming season his stocks in IPL took another hit as he was reported for suspected bowling action. It affected his on-field performance adversely and the spin wizard could only take five wickets in 10 games. Also, he was mediocre with the bat, scoring only 121 runs in 10 games. As a result, the think tank pushed him lower down the order during the season.

Narine worked through his new action and came back strongly in the 14th edition of the cash-rich league. He spun the web around the opposition and tormented batters with his guile. The bowling all-rounder featured in 14 matches and bagged 16 wickets at an economy of 6.44. His contributions with the ball helped Kolkata Knight Riders reach the summit clash of the T20 extravaganza.

Narine was at his consistent best in the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League and proved to be tough to score against. Though the wily spinner took just nine scalps in 14 outings, he conceded runs at a terrific economy of 5.57. Moreover, he played a couple of crucial cameos with the bat.

With years of magnificent performances, Narine has become a giant of a player in the IPL arena. The bowling maestro would look to play in the same vein in the seasons to come and take Kolkata Knight Riders to great heights.

Let us look Sunil Narine’s major milestone in his IPL career:

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