IPL: saw a T20 legend in Sunil Narine in 2011 itself, says Gambir
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Kolkata: The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) mentor Gautam Gambhir all praises West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine. The former two-time title-winning captain of KKR says that Narine is perhaps the greatest bowler in the tournament and that he had an inkling that the West Indian would develop into a legend in T20 cricket when he debuted in ODI against India in 2011, PTI reported.
"I must have faced seven or eight deliveries, and I thought this is the guy who is going to go out there and become the legend of the game, especially in T20 cricket," Gambhir said in the KKR Knights Dugout Podcast.
"See, where is Sunil Narine now? Probably the greatest bowler in IPL history," he said.
In his IPL career, Narine took 170 wickets from 168 matches and scored 1,322 runs. The score includes a century, which he scored against Rajasthan Royals in KKR's last match. KKR lost the match by a strand, but Narine's performance was astonishing.
Narine debuted in ODIs in 2011 against India with a figure of 2/34. He took out big fish Virat Kohli and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
In 2012, Gambhir led the KKR to win the title that year, and Narine bagged 24 wickets that season, backing his team through the tournament. He emerged as a mystery bowler and became the second-highest wicket-taker behind Morne Morkel- who took 25- just missing the purple cap. Narine took 21 wickets in 2014 when KKR lifted their second title. That year, he worked his batting prowess too to give the team blasting openings after he was brought to the top in the batting order.