Sunil Narine’s remarkable transformation as an opener for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing IPL season has been attributed to the guidance of team mentor Gautam Gambhir. Narine’s impressive performance at the top of the order, amassing 276 runs in six games, stands in stark contrast to his previous three seasons, where he scored only 154 runs while batting lower in the order.
After his memorable century at Eden Gardens, Narine acknowledged Gambhir’s role in making him open for the first time since 2017. Teammates like Rinku Singh have also reiterated this sentiment, stating, “You can see the way Narine is batting this time. In every match, he’s making runs, opening the batting and that was his (Gambhir’s) idea only.”
Narine’s transformation as a batsman is evident in his improved stroke-making and patience at the crease. Rinku attributed this change to Narine’s hard work in the nets, saying, “Nothing much has changed. It’s the result of his sheer hard work at the nets.” He also noted that Narine has become more thoughtful and wise in his approach, playing according to the merit of the ball.
Despite Narine’s impressive century, Rajasthan Royals emerged victorious, thanks to Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 107 off 60 balls. Rinku acknowledged Buttler’s innings as the turning point and credited Rajasthan Royals for their performance. He also mentioned that luck played a role in the outcome of the match.
With KKR’s top-order performing well this season, Rinku, who was their leading run-getter in IPL 2023, has had fewer opportunities to showcase his batting skills. However, he maintains a strike rate of over 184 and is confident of returning to playing full matches after recovering from a niggle that limited him to the role of an Impact Sub in the previous game.
