One of the finest all-rounders of the shortest format, Sunil Narine’s credentials have only grown ever since he first appeared on the international stage in 2012 against Australia.
Initially starting as a full-fledged bowler, the 33-year-old has grown from strength to strength in establishing himself as one of the vital members of Team Kolkata in the Indian T20 League.
Narine has been with Kolkata since 2012 and it was in 2017 that he was promoted as an opener. In his first season as a top-order batsman, Narine scored 224 runs at a staggering strike rate of 172.30. The figure went up to 357 runs in the subsequent season and there has been no looking back since.
While Narine’s hard-hitting prowess is up with the very best, his spinning capabilities are matched by very few. In 126 matches in the Indian T20 League, Narine has kept an economy of 6.75. While that's the seventh-best figure overall, it remains a figure to beat amongst bowlers who have played more than 100 games in the league.
In these 126 matches, Narine has picked 131 wickets with a whopping six four-wicket hauls. He is one of the two players alongside Lasith Malinga in the Indian T20 League history to take a four-wicket haul on six occasions.
Batsmen dismissed most number of times by Sunil Narine in T20 cricket
With these many games under his belt, it comes as no surprise that Narine has troubled some of the finest players in the game in T20 cricket.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson remains his favourite victim as he has been dismissed on nine occasions by the West Indian. The list is followed by Rohit Sharma, who Narine has dismissed eight times in T20 cricket, followed by Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir (seven dismissals).
| Batsmen | Number of dismissals |
| Shane Watson | 9 |
| Rohit Sharma | 8 |
| Sohail Tanvir | 7 |
| Evin Lewis | 6 |
| Dwayne Smith | 5 |
| Martin Guptil | 5 |
| Chadwick Walton | 5 |
| Chris Gayle | 5 |
His West Indies teammates Evin Lewis (six) and Dwayne Smith (five) make up the top five spots. The likes of Martin Guptill, Chadwick Walton and Chris Gayle have also been dismissed five times by the 33-year-old.
Observing a trend, it’s quite clear that Narine has been more successful against openers than against the middle-order batsman in T20 cricket as four of the five players in the aforementioned list are openers.
Featured photo: AFP / Dibgyangshu Sarkar
