IPL 2020 | Sunil Narine hasn’t spun the ball properly in two-three years, claims Kevin Pietersen

Sunil Narine walked into the 2020 IPL, on the back of an impressive display with both bat and ball in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League for the Trinbago Knight Riders. On the same line, he was made to open the batting alongside Shubman Gill in IPL 2020, a move which terribly backfired for the franchise.

On top of that, Narine’s inconsistent display with the ball too hasn’t warranted him a place in the playing XI, with the management deciding to replace him with Tom Banton against RCB. Following the move, former cricketer now-turned commentator, Kevin Pietersen has claimed that KKR’s premier all-rounder Narine hasn’t spun the ball in two-three years. The Englishman also was ruthless about his batting abilities, claiming him to be nothing more than a ‘tailender’ batting at the top of the order. 

“He is a tailender who bats at the top of the innings. I don’t really like him at the top of the order as a batsman. He comes off with 1 off 10, and that’s not good for the team and the team dynamics. As a spin bowler, he has not spun it properly for 2-3 years,” Pietersen said on Star Sports.

In his absence, KKR did find it a bit tough to bowl against the duo of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, who seemingly were thrashing the ball to all parts of the ground. In the six games, the right-arm off-spinner has picked up five wickets, at an average of 35, drastically higher than his IPL numbers, which is floating at 23.80. 

“Sunil Narine has not been the same bowler for a few years now. He hasn’t had his best; he hasn’t had his real big spin. Coming to Sharjah, it is not something you are really worried about Sunil Narine. And then the bowlers have found him out in his batting. You bowl him short, he doesn’t like it,” Pietersen added.