Gautam Gambhir may have been retired, however, you cannot keep him out of the game. Gambhir is the third most successful IPL captain of all time behind MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. He led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to two titles in 2012 and 2014.
Gambhir recently in an interview, named a valuable asset who can make the IPL a difficult place for batsmen. He truly believes the T20 specialist, Sunil Narine will be the game changer for KKR.
The former KKR captain believes Narine will be even more dangerous with a slightly tweaked action. The fact that the West Indian has started hiding the ball before it’s release, will make it very difficult for the batsmen to read.
Gambhir on Narine!
“For me, the most important thing is that when Sunil Narine is hiding the ball during his run-up, it will increase the difficulties for the batsmen. It will be difficult to find which ball will go away and which ball will come in. Because the later you see the ball in the hand, the more difficult it is for the batsmen”, he said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
Narine’s new action has already shown results in the recent Caribbean Premier League. He picked up five wickets in the four matches he played for Trinbago Knight Riders at an economy of a mere 4.87. Gambhir stressed on the fact that Narine has also started varying his pace. He, therefore, believes Narine will prevail especially on UAE pitches where there is some assistance for spin.
“If Sunil Narine gets a little grip from the UAE wickets, he will be very effective,” the former KKR captain said. “The pace at which Sunil Narine is bowling, Rashid Khan is so successful because of his pace and Sunil Narine has been successful when he has bowled quicker, it is a new thing we have seen and this might make him very successful in the IPL.”
Narine has established himself as a modern-day IPL and T20 legend. He has picked up 122 wickets in the 110 IPL matches, making him eighth in the list of highest wicket-takers in the IPL.
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